; ;' •■'■•:vr-•; ffl ; k3,\: 

\'* :t rrr^r: *1 rri •*•?'•••♦*Riv»■• vR&u. r, .,»v>• 


*i.yv*.*•'»• y». *fu •• »'!*;"'••<•/■■'.*»-K:■* 

'•’if- ■■ ■ Aftfaff* «J* f*t *■■,. v*:i/ it-" * Jjif *•' vV y * v * 

• Vvf'VJiT]**> • • •'r*' •'f v*« i v^y .••»♦« •'VfV’pr / Ifflr 

r*:s MKra© ■ 

■*'■■• »♦«*.%»«tv .*■• » -*•;->,\ ■ ■ 

• VWvm'* 


If♦,*«,•, ,-vJii.y- t'ffVww.'M*' •* ►•V*’}'!* i.< 

4 i*V * ••,»•*>•.•*« f J v . * t< j ■•■■■'•(» •■•*'■ f ‘» • 

' • ^ »' | • • . . • ' '' > '.‘> '1 <• ' r" r * bitfei'twV .*?<•* * * • 1 

v* y-y>>,'v/>^\y};>'i t A r' r ' 

-'♦yV't'’*>>#**««* •'VH-viil»K' .ft/,/■ 
'•' 'V *•*’•• V'></VV i»-: .»•{• 4»fcn V->-\. ' /;•) *- 


'.‘y’V t)) (*»•«) V? >‘f 

,* L: •..•«' 1. - I V«. 1 ’‘•M-r ' 


• ,» ♦ ! . ■ ■ I * • • r~. . !.Ju i, . ; f , , . ui . .. •,/ • r •. * • - • • ’. « v 

• V • >' • 1 ' i' th^ **.V* i • 1 »•. • y->« ,* •* -M.• 1* • J • > t ***•{* . 4 «i , f * / j-ytsi ; . 

. r, .‘ v-*« ¥ *•• ! v'* -‘•♦-r ;>«-.kh»►*••*• 

wV ' , *^e r’* J * r IV v? i k * ' 7 ‘ ^ W vfw'l vf' ^V. v ^"Ktnft Jfr 1 ? vM *‘ 

.* <.,»•? < • * m * 4j-Vi v f MyV r f \\v-ifa*k- -’ 4Vf^rv'' • V'*;^ *^V* -K ' •* v-* 

>, .?*'y...' *• -i^V •. 1 •*fiM **.- , i(* # u<>- j v&*y y ,J f b> J•>,»*.******> 

. • V'c 1 '. ■ l* ■ » • • »-kf t ■ -yl-'.r* -^U.* *..» * • •' ' ‘ . ■ • **• ' '• t \ t \* '' 1 ‘ * » h •■>■*• 

?t v» rf-r... * kh V-«<> # <v*-> »y v> f ^ .«vf v 


f.'.' v / )" 


Vv > nf t* ''V’f'Si Jjr/iAjJi *- f«-■> 

-->• .4y,. , t > v r f 1 ■, * r ♦ * < \ 1 '• ’ 

< 4*4 .> i *•' 


mm'- 

•\•• j- »*> i* ;* 





'V '.» 




-*i 


■.. v*V- 

miWmV 


“ ■■ M '• 'r*'' 4 *' •' «• -4-A, J .. 

' ■ : :: 

O'tnfjy,.' • '•>**< »#•>■' t-‘v* -iM» 

•l'v •■■•••'• 

. r / ►< , r ./ ( . , 

„it »>y } v'^-> 


h *>"*•''!• *■■*■ 

• ► . v* • r< • -* 

. 

•vV4J>Wv. -finK-y' 4 1 J«»v«kr*"»h»>»*'*' 

; • . .■ 1 ::. 

•■•••'•. *(•..•,- * ■ .«•• .•«»•.- . f.> , , • • • ... ,, , . • - \ ■ 

v ^iVV V4*'’f!’ } m-• <•»* ’)*' 'W'yrwl 
■ ■ .. • ■ 1 

C' -• -»*•; * ' - v •< • " i't V •» 

»S^fc*i#..vv< jr>^f r *•<’<ti" ’* i*tab'll vh*|'S^ M 


- 1 a 1 - ( nyMrg WlfflMgff WU ^ ^ .. 

y.V'' -A■■ ( tlV'*V'» kRm^ v ’V >r.-* 

*'* ; k ‘rY h t■'* ri'*''r'-s» .* >»»•• r *yv<v*.# •%.-*,.»**•>• v -1 


W ’■••.‘v.r.'fr H£3tt 

ri$ ^^3 • i 1 £■ J; j: hi i •, ife: • i. 

v • VV Vi' Yrv^**^ f* ,*.■•' r* *■< 

s y*..f,*..>/n- ■ • « . - ■ 

■U: |-v^ v«v»* .« • • • •' * 


4 }i'4”■»P ;•" 


u .yv**irV 

‘T-Kwi'iVyf^r^ 


*. •«!* J«»* y ' ' * •■»■■**’ *» 4 • ’'»*'‘fylf’ 

A ... .1 •/ •• i- I'iji'f' * ^ 4 •'«»■»♦' • 

v lyw» r J*iw |U‘ ^ «-K..s»}.r /•; f»-> * •••-♦♦.# 

•f ^iWL n^J. ’’'rl' • 






























a y ori:iU A , 








PALl^' 


SDJN* 


i Wilson 


,r E PT-RF.V 


"'I LSO 

































1 / 



SCENES IN SCOTLAND; 


WITH 

SKETCHES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 

HISTORICAL, BIOGRAPHICAL, AND LITERARY. 


BY 

JAMES HARRIS BROWN. 



EMBELLISHED WITH FIFTY ENGRAVINGS. 

A 



GLASGOW: r> 

PRINTED FOR RICHARD GRIFFIN & CO.; 

T. T. & J. TEGG, LONDON; 

J. STILLIE, EDINBURGH; AND SAMUEL ARCHER, BELFAST. 


MDCCCXXXIII. 








R. MALCOLM, PRINTER, BRUNSWICK STREET, GLASGOW. 



LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 


No. 


Portraits, 

• 


• 

• 


To face Title. 

1. Edinburgh Castle, 







Page 3 

2. Holyrood Palace, 







ib. 

3. Roslin Castle, 







ib. 

4. Hawthornden, 







15 

5. Craigmillar Castle, 







ib. 

6. Craigcrook Castle, 







ib. 

7. Dunbar Castle, 







31 

8. Lincluden College, 







ib. 

9. Abbotsford, 







ib. 

lOr Dumfries, 







65 

1 1. Ms lrose Abbey, . 







ib. 

1 r; Dryburgh Abbey, 







ib. 

13. Ayr, . . . 







76 

14. Turnberry Castle, 







ib. 

15. Largs, 







ib. 

16. Rothesay Castle, 







114 

17. Inverary Castle, 







ib. 

18. DunstafFnage Castle, 







ib. 

19. Glasgow, 







134 

20. The Cathedral of Glasgow, 






ib. 

21. Cathcart Castle, 







ib. 

22. Hamilton Palace, 







162 

23. Bothwell Castle, 







ib. 

24. Fall of Stonebyres, 







ib. 

25. Abbey of Paisley, 

• 






166 

26. Cruickston Castle, 







ib. 

27. Greenock, . 





; 


ib. 

28. Dumbarton Castle, 







190 

29. View on Clyde, 







ib. 

30. Lochlomond, 







ib. 

31, Stirling Castle, 

• 

• 





194 









IV LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 

No. Page 

32. Linlithgow Palace, ...... 194 

33. Lochleven Castle, ...... ib. 

34. The Cathedral of St Andrew’s, .... 200 

35. Dunfermline and Abbey, ..... ib. 

36. Castle Campbell, ...... ib. 

37. Aberbrothock Abbey, ..... 207 

38. Dunottar Castle, ...... ib. 

39. Perth, ......:. ib. 

40. Loch Katrine, ..;.... 205 

41. Pass of Killiecrankie, ..... ib. 

42. Dunkeld, ........ ib- 

43. Aberdeen, . . . . . . . . 212 

4L Inverness, ........ ib. 

45. Elgin Cathedral, ..... : ib, 

46. Darnaway Castle, . . . . . . 219 

47. Findlater Castle, ...... ib. 

48. Calder Castle, ....... ib. 








CONTENTS. 


Page 


Preface, .ix 

Introduction,.• x i 

Edinburghshire, or Midlothian—City of Edinburgh, . I 

Edinburgh Castle—Topographical description of—Twice re¬ 
taken from the English by stratagem, ... 3 

Palace of Holyrood—Residence of the Bourbons when exiled 

in 1795 and 1830—Description of the building, . 7 

Roslin Castle—Opulence of the St. Clares, its original owners, 10 
Battle of Roslin—The Scots thrice victorious over the Eng¬ 
lish in one day,.12 

Chapel of Roslin—Anecdote of its architect—Its remarkable 

Monuments and Burial Place, . . . . 13 

Hawtbornden—Residence of Drummond the Poet—Curious 

Caves under the building,.15 

Craigmillar Castle—Residence of Queen Mary in 1561, . 16 


Craigcrook Castle—Residence of Mr Jeffrey, Editor of the 
Edinburgh Beview, and subsequently Lord Advocate of 
Scotland—An American Gentleman’s Visit to Craig¬ 
crook—Mr Jeffrey and his Domestic Establishment 


described, ........ 18 

Eminent Men of Midlothian—Scheme of the famous projector, 

John Law, to establish a National Bank in Scotland, 28 
East Lothian, or Haddingtonshire, .... 30 

Dunbar Castle—Anecdote of the Countess of March, com¬ 
monly called Black Agnes, ..... 31 

Eminent Men of East Lothian, ..... 33 

Selkirkshire, ... ..... 33 

Abbotsford, ........ 34 

Sir Walter Scott—Sketch of his Literary Life, . . 36 

Roxburghshire, ........ 60 

Melrose Abbey—Poetical Description by Sir Walter Scott, 60 




VI 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


Eminent Men of Roxburghshire,.62 

Berwickshire, ........ 63 

Dryburgk Abbey, ....... 63 

Eminent Men of Berwickshire,.64 

Dumfries-shire, . . • ■ • • 64 

Dumfries—Anecdote of the Hangman’s Dues—Visit to the 

Widow of Burns—The Poet’s Tomb, ... 65 

Eminent Men of Dumfries-shire, ..... 72 

Stewartry of Kirkcudbright,.73 

Lincluden College,. 74 

Ayrshire, ......... 75 

Ayr, .......... 76 

Turnberry Castle—Anecdote of Robert Bruce, . . 77 

Largs—Invasion and Defeat of Haco King of Norway, . 73 

Burns the Poet—Visit to his Monument near Ayr—Thom 

the Sculptor—Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnnie, . 80 

Buteshire—Ancient and present state of Bute—Island of Ar¬ 
ran—The Lord Advocate Jeffrey’s humorous account of 
a Buteshire Election, ...... 89 

Rothesay—Sketch of it as a Watering-Place—Salubrious qua¬ 
lity of the Climate of Bute—Dr. Morrison’s Opinion on 
that subject, .. . 93 


Mr Malcolm on the advantages of Rothesay as a Residence for 
Invalids—What climate most suitable for the Consump¬ 
tive—A Case of Consumption cured—View of Society in 
Rothesay, ........ 97 

Rothesay Castle, . . . . . . . . 114 

Mount Stuart—Descriptive Sketch of it by the late Joseph 
Bain, Esq., younger of Morriston—Pictures—Kneller’s 
Portrait of Lady M. W. Montague—Rubens, painted by 
himself—Lady Jane Douglas—Her Character by the 


Chevalier Johnstone,.. i ] 5 

Argyleshire,. 125 

Inverary Castle, ........ 126 

Dunstaffnage Castle, . . . . . , , 127 

Eminent Men of Argyleshire, . . . . . 128 

Lanarkshire, . . . . . . . , 133 


Glasgow—Descriptive Sketch of it—Dr. Cleland’s Statistical 
Account of its Population in 1831 —The University and 
its Constitution—Popular Character of the Annual Elec¬ 
tions of the Lord Rector,. 134 














CONTENTS. 


Lord Chancellor Brougham—Sketch of his Life—Character¬ 
istics of his Eloquence, . 

Thomas Campbell, Esq.—Sketch of his Literary Life—Cha¬ 
racter of his Writings, 

Cathedral of Glasgow, . 

Cathcart Castle, 

Hamilton Palace, 

Bothwell Castle, 

Falls of Clyde—Bonnington Linn, Cora Linn, and Stone- 
byres— Humorous Metrical Description, 

Eminent Men of Lanarkshire, 

Renfrewshire, 

Abbey of Paisley, 

Cruickston Castle, 

Greenock—Shaw’s Water-Works, 

Eminent Men of Renfrewshire, 

John Wilson, Esq., Professor of Moral Philosophy in the 
University of Edinburgh, 

Dumbartonshire, . 

Dumbarton Castle—Antiquity of Dumbarton, 

View on Clyde from Dalnotar Hill, 

Loch Lomond, .... 

Eminent Men of Dumbartonshire, 

Stirlingshire, 

Stirling Castle, 

Eminent Men of Stirlingshire, 

Linlithgowshire, 

Linlithgow, » 

Royal Palace at Linlithgow, 

Kinross-shire, 

Lochleven Castle, 

Fifeshire, .... 

Cathedral of St. Andrew’s, . 

Dunfermline and Abbey, 

Eminent Men of Fife, 

Clackmannanshire, 

Castle Campbell, 

Perthshire, .... 

Perth, .... 

Loch Katrine—The Trossachs, 

Pass of Killiecrankie, 


Vll 

Page 

139 

147 

160 

161 

162 

163 

163 

165 

165 

166 

167 

168 

170 

171 
190 
190 
192 

192 

193 

194 

194 

195 

196 

196 

197 

198 

198 

199 

200 
200 
202 
203 

203 

204 

204 

205 

206 








Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


Dunkeld, .... 

Forfarshire, 

Abbey of Aberbrothock, 

Kincardineshire, 

Dunottar Castle—Anecdote of the Scottish Regalia 
Eminent Men of Kincardineshire, 

Aberdeenshire, 

Aberdeen—Antiquity of the Old Town—Commercial 
portance of the New Town, 

Eminent Men of Aberdeenshire, 

Inverness-shire, 

Inverness, .... 

Eminent Men of Inverness-shire, 

Morayshire, .... 

Elgin,. 

Cathedral of Elgin, 

Darnaway Castle, 

Banffshire, .... 

Findlater Castle, . 

Eminent Men of Banffshire, 

Nairnshire, .... 

Calder Castle, 

Last Illness, Death, and Funeral of Sir Walter Scott, 
Conclusion, ....... 


Im- 


Page 

206 

207 

207 

208 
209 
211 
211 

212 

213 

214 

214 

215 

215 

216 
216 
218 
219 

219 

220 
220 
220 
222 
239 








PREFACE. 


The chief object of this Manual of Scottish Topographical 
Beauties, is to give in a condensed and popular form, the 
better portion of what is usually contained in works of a 
more expensive and less portable kind. These, it is well 
known, are for the most part either so highly decorative, or 
so exclusively antiquarian, as to be adapted for almost no 
other class but the rich and the learned. And, accordingly, 
it is justly complained that publications descriptive of 
Scottish Scenery are too often little better than “ Books 
sealed.” A familiar work, suited to ordinary readers, is, 
therefore, in this department of our domestic literature, as 
yet a desideratum. It is with a view, in some measure, to 
supply so obvious a want that the present volume has been 
prepared, and is now presented to the public. 

In the original plan of “ Scenes in Scotland,” it was in¬ 
tended that the letter-press details should be wholly confined 
to a description of the subjects represented in the engraved 
designs. This, however, must necessarily have limited its 
interest, and perhaps, also, have rendered it like many other 
pictorial topographical productions, a Book merely to the 
eye. An admixture of Biographical and Miscellaneous 
matter, suggested as a remedy, was therefore adopted ; 
and although, in thus giving a novel and somewhat incon¬ 
gruous feature to the work, various difficulties occurred, 
it will be seen by a slight glance at the Table of Contents, 
that these have in a great measure been successfully over¬ 
come. 

In the selection and arrangement of materials for the vo¬ 
lume, it will be seen that pains have been taken to combine 
as much novelty and variety of information as could possibly 
be compressed in so small a compass; to convey that inform- 



X 


PREFACE. 


ation in a distinct, intelligible style, so as to be acceptable to 
almost any class of readers ; and to present at the same time 
such faithful as well as pleasing representations, both of the 
scenes and characters described, as may leave a lasting and 
agreeable impression. It will perhaps be objected by some 
that the Biographical matter occupies too large a space in 
comparison with the descriptive local details. But in this re¬ 
spect, the principal object has been to place within the reach 
of the young and rising age a work which, while it makes 
them acquainted with all the more prominent topographical 
beauties and picturesque features of their country, shall at 
the same time excite their emulation in the career of pa¬ 
triotism and honour, by holding up as examples those emi¬ 
nent men who have already so much contributed to adorn it. - 

As every district of Scotland abounds with picturesque 
scenery, it may well be supposed that some difficulty oc¬ 
curred in selecting subjects for the engraver. If but two 
scenes had been chosen from each county, the number 
would have greatly exceeded the limits prescribed by the 
design of the work. There was no other alternative, there¬ 
fore, but to make choice of such subjects only as were best 
fitted for illustration, and at the same time most easily 
adapted to the style and size of the engravings. It will be 
found, however, that except in so far as confined by a proper 
attention to these two objects, sufficient discrimination has 
been exercised in the task of selection; and that although 
many fine subjects have been necessarily omitted, yet in 
point of fact the volume presents all the more prominent 
and remarkable scenic beauties of the land. 

On the whole, it is hoped that “ Scenes in Scotland” 
will be found to possess attractions equal, if not superior, 
to some other works of greater pretension—that as it aims 
only at being generally useful, it will on that account be 
the more generally acceptable—and that, since the varied 
mixture of subjects which it presents must create a livelier 
interest, than if it had been more limited in its design and 
less excursive in its range, a permanent guarantee may 
thence be derived for general public approbation. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The most appropriate Introduction to Scenes in Scotland, 
appears to be a descriptive outline of the country itself. In 
conformity with the plan of the Work, the description which 
follows, is short and general, exhibiting the broad and strik¬ 
ing features, rather than the minute and tedious details. 

Scotland and its Isles present an area of 29,600 square 
miles, or 18,944,000 English acres; of which 5,043,450 
are cultivated, and 13,900,550 uncultivated; besides 638 
square miles occupied by lakes and rivers. Its length is 
244 miles; and its breadth, under different parallels, varies 
from 170 to 70, and even 36 miles. 

The country is naturally divided into two great divisions. 
Highlands and Lowlands, originally inhabited by very dis¬ 
tinct races of men ; and this distinction is still visible in their 
descendants, notwithstanding the intermixture which has 
been produced by the progress of civilization and internal 
commerce. The natural and artificial intersections pro¬ 
duced by water, have, however, suggested a threefold di¬ 
vision, into the Northern, the Middle, and the Southern 
regions. The Northern region which is of a very irregular 
triangular form, is separated from the Middle, by a regular 
chain of lakes. 

The Southern region which is of an irregular triangular 
form, is more cultivated than the other regions, and bears a 
greater resemblance to England in its general character, as 
to natural appearance, cultivation, and population. The 
Middle region is very mountainous, being intersected by 
the Grampian chain from east to west; but its southern 



Xll 


INTRODUCTION. 


and eastern parts are more cultivated and less hilly than the 
rest, being in this respect comparable to the southern region. 
The Northern region consists chiefly of an assemblage of 
vast and dreary mountains, here and there intersected by 
cultivated vales and beautiful lakes. In this region are 
found the most elevated points of land in Great Britain, 
Ben-Nevis, in Inverness-shire, being about 4300 feet above 
the level of the sea, and Benivas in Ross-shire, being about 
4000 feet. 

In the Middle region, there are also many elevated points 
of land, almost rivalling those of the northern ; in Perthshire, 
Benlawers being about 4000 feet high above the level of the 
sea, and Schiehalien about 3500 feet. It is the boast of the 
natives of the Highlands, both in the northern and middle 
regions, that the all-conquering Romans were unable to pe¬ 
netrate farther into Scotland, than the foot of the Grampian 
hills. Though this be true, it may also be observed that 
beyond this natural line of demarcation, there was nothing 
in so savage a district to attract the cupidity of those civi¬ 
lized warriors. No fertile fields waving with yellow corn, no 
orchards rich with fruit, no cities filled with wealth, were to be 
found in those barren regions. The poverty and barbarism 
of the natives must soon have convinced the conquerors, 
that their conquest was not worth the trouble. Modern 
times have slowly produced improvements in those districts. 
The mountains are now stocked with cattle, which browze 
at will on the stinted vegetation of nature ; here they repro¬ 
duce their kind with rapidity, which are afterwards driven 
to the fertile vallies of the south to fatten for the sustenance 
of man. Cultivation is also in a state of progressive im¬ 
provement, and it is hard to say what effects it may produce 
in future ages on the sterile regions of the north. 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


EDINBURGHSHIRE OR MID-LOTHIAN. 

This important county lies on the southern shore of the 
Frith of Forth, having Linlithgowshire, or West-Lothian, 
as its boundary on the west, and Haddingtonshire, or East- 
Lothian, with Berwick and Roxburghshires, on the east. 
It is irregularly shaped, but is something of a four-sided 
figure. It has been compared to a triangle with one of 
the angles cut off. On the south, it is bounded by the 
counties of Selkirk, Peebles, and Lanark. Being the 
metropolitan county, it is the first in point of rank, and 
is studded all over with the country seats of noblemen 
and gentlemen. 

EDINBURGH. 

The City of Edinburgh is by far the most important 
object which the county contains, and it, therefore, must 
be first noticed. It stands near the centre of the northern 
boundary of the county, and within two miles of the 
town and harbour of Leith, to which, however, by the 
extension of its buildings, it is now rapidly approaching. 
The ground on which Edinburgh stands, is so strangely 
irregular, and the houses have such a great diversity of 

A 



2 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


form and aspect, that it is not very easy to give a general 
description of it. Indeed, Edinburgh may be said to form 
three distinct towns, separated by nature from each other; 
for it stands upon three separate eminences, having val¬ 
leys intervening betwixt them. Nevertheless there is no 
city of its extent, which is less perplexing to a stranger, 
or where he is less likely to lose his way than Edin¬ 
burgh. 

The old town stands upon the central eminence, which 
is a long hill rising out of a plain on the east, and termin¬ 
ating towards the west in a lofty precipice, on which is 
situated the ancient castle. There is a deep hollow or 
valley on each side of this hill. The High Street, which 
is the principal street of the old town, is situated on 
the summit of this ridge or hill; and a prodigious num¬ 
ber of narrow lanes and closes descend from it into the 
valleys on either side. The valley to the north was ori¬ 
ginally a lake or loch, and is still called the North Loch, 
although it is now drained, and laid out in gardens. At 
the bottom of the valley to the south, is a long narrow 
street called the Cowgate, which runs parallel to the 
High Street. The southern district stands on an emi¬ 
nence which rises to the south of the Cowgate, and in it> 
are many fine houses and handsome streets. But it is in 
the New Town, which stands on an eminence to the north 
of the North Loch, that the most splendid houses and 
streets are situated. This portion of Edinburgh is, without 
exception, the most magnificent in the world. 

Besides the hill on which the town stands, there are 
other three hills of different heights adjoining it, from 
which very fine view's of the city and surrounding coun¬ 
try may be had. These are the Calton Hill, on which is 
placed Nelson’s Monument and the Observatory, Salis¬ 
bury Craigs, where a fine road or path has been made, 
and Arthur’s Seat, which rises to a considerable height, 
and with picturesque effect overtops the whole. 










* 

« 

' 



























































« 









t 



















- 

. 


- ■ 

•* 






.. 


*• 






Ktvr* 1 J"»y Gray & Son 









































EDINBURGH CASTLE. 


3 


In the picture of Edinburgh Castle (see Plate,) a small 
part of the Old Town is to be seen with that ancient for¬ 
tress towering over it. 

EDINBURGH CASTLE. 

The Castle is situated at the western summit of the 
long hill on which the Old Town is built. It occupies 
an area of about six English acres. Its situation is natu¬ 
rally so strong, that if the supposition were not contra¬ 
dicted by history, we should have regarded it as impreg¬ 
nable before the invention of artillery and gunpowder. 
The rock on which it stands appears quite inaccessible 
on the north, the west, and the south; at many places it 
is absolutely perpendicular, and about three hundred feet 
in height from its base. On the east, the only quarter 
from which it is accessible, the Castle is separated from 
the buildings of the city, by an open space called a glacis, 
of about three hundred and fifty feet in length, and three 
hundred in breadth. This is also called the Castle Hill, 
and it commands a very fine view of the city, and its 
whole environs, with the sea and the opposite coast of 
Fife. At the western termination of the Castle Hill, is 
the outer barrier of the Castle, beyond which is a dry 
ditch with a drawbridge and gate; the whole command¬ 
ed by a battery in shape of a half-moon, mounted with 
twelve and eighteen pounders; that is, cannon which will 
carry balls of that weight. Within the gate is a guard- 
room ; beyond which, on the road winding upwards to¬ 
wards the north, are two gateways; the first of which is 
very strong, and has two portcullises. Beyond the inner 
gateway is a battery which was wont to be mounted 
with brass guns, but these were all removed about the 
middle of last war, and less expensive ones, of carron 
manufacture, substituted in their stead; near this bat¬ 
tery are storehouses for gun-carriages and other imple? 

a 2 


4 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ments of artillery. On the north is a grand store-room 
and arsenal, which, together with the other magazines in 
the fort, are capable of containing thirty thousand stand of 
arms. In addition to those already mentioned, there are 
some other batteries at different points of the circumference 
of the rampart or wall, by which the brow of the rock is 
encircled. 

The highest part of the Castle, which is towards the 
south-east, consists of a number of houses in the form of 
a square, and surrounding a parade for exercise. The 
buildings are chiefly laid out in barracks for the officers. 
The different old barracks in the garrison can accommo¬ 
date a thousand men ; and, in addition to these, during 
the late war, a very lofty and extensive range of build¬ 
ings was erected on the western brow of the rock. 

The east side of the square already mentioned, at the 
summit of the Castle, was anciently used as royal apart¬ 
ments. Here the beautiful but unfortunate Queen Mary 
resided at the birth of her son, afterwards King James 
VI. A small room, on the ground floor, in the south-east 
corner of this building, is still pointed out as the place 
where that prince was born. 

In this quarter of the Castle, immediately under the 
square tower, is the apartment called the crown room, 
wherein are deposited the Regalia of Scotland. It con¬ 
sists of the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword of State. They 
were placed here on the 26 th March, 17O7. It was long 
believed that they had been removed and taken to Eng¬ 
land; but in 1818 , when commissioners were appointed 
by his late Majesty, George IV. then Prince Regent, to 
search for them, a large oaken chest in the crown room 
was forced open, and these relics of the Scottish Mo¬ 
narchy were discovered. They were found in perfect pre¬ 
servation, and have since been open to public inspection. 

The Castle of Edinburgh, though once considered a 
place of great strength, would be of very little importance 


EDINBURGH CASTLE. 


5 

in modern warfare. But, even in ancient times, it was 
repeatedly carried either by force or stratagem. We shall 
give a brief account of how it was taken, on two differ¬ 
ent occasions, by the Scotch from the English, during 
periods when the two nations were at war with each 
other. 

Upon the death of the grand-daughter of Alexander 
III. King of Scotland, commonly called the Fair Maid of 
Norway, the celebrated contest began between Bruce and 
Baliol for the Crown. This was a source of great and 
protracted misery to Scotland. Edward I., then King of 
England, taking advantage of the state of the country, 
overran it with his troops, took possession of all the im¬ 
portant fortresses, and, among the rest, Edinburgh Castle, 
and had almost entirely subjected the kingdom. At this 
time the Castle was in possession of the English for about 
twenty years. But it was at length recovered by Tho¬ 
mas Randolph, Earl of Murray, in the following manner: 
It had for governor, under the English, Piers Leland, a 
knight of Gascony. Randolph blockaded it so closely 
that all communication with the adjacent country was cut 
off ; the garrison, suspecting the fidelity of Leland thrust 
him into a dungeon, and chose another commander in his 
stead. Matters were in this state when one William 
Frank presented himself to Randolph, and offered to 
show him how the walls of the castle might be scaled. 
This man, while young, had resided in it, and for pur¬ 
poses of his own, had been accustomed to descend the 
wall during the night by means of a ladder of ropes, 
and through a steep and intricate path to arrive at the 
foot of the rock. The road, amidst perilous precipices, 
had become familiar to him, and he still retained a 
perfect remembrance of it. Randolph, with thirty men, 
undertook the enterprise of scaling the castle at mid¬ 
night. Frank was their guide, and the first who ascend¬ 
ed the scaling ladder. Before, however, the whole party 


6 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


could reach the summit of the wall, an alarm was given ; 
the garrison ran to arms, and a desperate combat en¬ 
sued ; but their governor having been slain, the Eng¬ 
lish at length surrendered. 

Leland, the former governor, being released from his 
imprisonment, entered into the service of the Scottish 
nation; and King Robert Bruce ordered the castle to be 
demolished. He also demolished all the other fortresses 
which he recovered from the English, that they might 
not, for the future, serve, when taken, to enable an in¬ 
vading enemy to retain the country in a state of sub¬ 
jection. 

In the reign of Edward III. however, the English 
again took possession of the rock, and fortified it as 
before; but in the year 1341 it was recovered for the 
Scotch by the following stratagem, which was effect¬ 
ed by four gentlemen, among whom was William de 
Douglas. One of the gentlemen, pretending to be an 
English merchant, went to the governor of the castle, 
and informed him that he had got a cargo of wine, 
strong beer, and biscuit exquisitely spiced , in his vessel 
just arrived in the Forth; which provisions he request¬ 
ed the governor to purchase. He produced as a spe¬ 
cimen a bottle of wine, and another of beer. The go¬ 
vernor relished the liquors, and they agreed about the 
price. The pretended merchant was to deliver the pro¬ 
visions next morning early, that he might not be inter¬ 
cepted by the Scots. He came, accordingly, at the time 
appointed, attended by a dozen of armed followers under 
the disguise of sailors, and the gates were opened for their 
reception. While entering the Castle, they contrived to 
overturn the carriage upon which the provisions were 
supposed to be heaped, and instantly killed the porter 
and the sentinels. Upon the sound of a horn, the ap¬ 
pointed signal, Douglas, with a band of armed men, 
sprung from an ambush in the neighbourhood, and rush- 


PALACE OF HOLYROOD. 


7 


ed into the Castle, where, having joined their compa* 
nions, the garrison, after a sharp conflict, were mostly 
put to the sword, and the fortress was thus recovered by 
the Scots. 


PALACE OF HOLYROOD. 

Scotland in former times abounded in royal palaces. 
They are all, however, now in ruins, with the exception of 
Holyrood House. This ancient abode of her kings, is si¬ 
tuated at the bottom of the long hill already described, on 
which the Old Town is built. It is about a mile distant 
from the Castle. The Palace is situated at the eastern ex¬ 
tremity of the principal street of the Old Town, while the 
Castle forms its western termination. Salisbury Craigs 
rise immediately to the south of the Palace, and beyond 
them Arthur’s Seat rises to a great height, the whole form¬ 
ing a sublime and picturesque scene from the windows of 
the Palace. 

This magnificent royal residence, after threatening to 
fall into decay from being no longer possessed and kept in 
repair, was some years ago rendered once more conspi¬ 
cuous by becoming the retreat of a portion of the royal 
family of France, whom the terrible career of the Revo¬ 
lution had compelled to emigrate. This was the Count 
d*Artois, then generally styled Monsieur, younger brother 
to the unfortunate Louis XVI. and the same Prince who 
afterwards succeeded his elder brother, Louis XVIII., 
under the title of Charles X. He, and the nobility and 
clergy who attended him, inhabited the east part, to¬ 
gether with the south wing of the Palace. The apart¬ 
ments were fitted up with considerable elegance. 

It is not a little remarkable, and shows the mutability 
of all human affairs in a very striking point of view, that, 
at the distance of thirty-five years, the same Prince should 
have been driven from the throne of his ancestors, and 


8 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


forced, in his old age, to seek once more an asylum in this 
ancient Palace of our kings. Though long expatriated 
and almost -without hope of ever regaining their lost in¬ 
heritance, he and his brother, Louis XVIII., did, by a 
miracle, as it were, reascend the French throne, but they 
proved themselves totally unworthy of this lucky turn of 
fortune. By attempting to govern contrary to the laws, 
which they had sw T orn to observe, they justly incurred the 
indignation of the French people. Louis, by a partial, 
though rather equivocal observance of them, under the 
charter which he had accepted at his restoration, contriv¬ 
ed to reign ten years, and died upon the throne; but his 
brother, after attempting to dispense with the charter al¬ 
together, was again expelled by the nation, and had the 
mortification, not only of suffering a second exile, but of 
seeing a younger scion of the Bourbons placed upon the 
throne. Thus Charles X., formerly Count d’Artois, found 
himself occupying, in 1830, the same apartments in the 
Palace of Holyrood which he had inhabited under similar 
circumstances of disgrace and exile, in 1795. 

This Palace is a splendid stone fabric, forming a square 
within, decorated on all sides wfith piazzas and a spacious 
walk. The western part, or principal front, consists of 
two lofty double towers, joined by a beautiful low build¬ 
ing or gallery, adorned with a double ballustrade above, 
in the middle of which is a handsome portico, decorated 
with high stone columns, which support a cupola in form 
of an imperial crown, underneath which is a clock. Above 
the gate or principal entry are the Royal Scots arms, as 
they were borne before the Union. The other three 
sides of the square are lofty and noble, of three stories in 
height. The great staircase is equal in grandeur to the 
r est of the building. The gallery on the north side is 
150 feet long, but the breadth only 27^, and the height 
18. This apartment is hung with pictures of a race of 
Scottish Kings through an imaginary series of 2000 


PALACE OF HOLYROOD. 


9 


years. They are of no value, and many of them are 
much defaced ; a circumstance which is ascribed to 
General Hawley having thought fit, in 1745, after the 
defeat by the rebels of the royal army, which he com¬ 
manded at Falkirk, to quarter his beaten troops in the 
gallery of this Palace; and they who had fled before un¬ 
disciplined and ill-armed Highlanders, here manifested 
their loyalty by defacing and cutting to pieces what was 
supposed to be the representations of the Scottish Mo- 
narchs. Here also is the room in which the elections of 
the Scottish peerage are at present held. It was anciently 
the royal dining-room; adjoining to it, is a drawing-room 
and state bed-room. The apartments are wainscotted 
with pannels of oak; and ornamented over the doors 
and mantle-pieces with festoons of flowers and foliage. 
Near to the long gallery, in what are called “ Lord Dun- 
more’s Lodgings, is a celebrated painting of King Charles 
I. and his Queen. There are also full length portraits of 
George III. and his Queen, painted by Ramsay. With 
the exception of the apartments already mentioned, the 
only others worth seeing are those possessed by his Grace 
the Duke of Hamilton, as hereditary keeper of the Palace. 
Strangers are usually shown Queen Mary’s apartments, 
where that unfortunate Princess resided when at Holy- 
rood. In the second floor of these rooms her own bed 
still remains. It is of crimson damask, bordered with 
green silk fringes and tassels, but is now almost in tatters. 
Close to the floor of this room, a piece of wainscot, about 
a yard square, hangs upon hinges, and opens a passage 
to a trap-stair, which communicates with the apartments 
beneath. Through this passage Lord Darnley and the 
other conspirators rushed to murder David Rizzio. The 
spot where he expired is still pointed out; and a stain on 
the floor is said to have been caused by the blood ot the 
ill-fated Italian. 

a 3 


10 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


Adjoining to the Palace are to be seen the beautiful 
Gothic remains of the Church or Chapel of Holyrood 
House, which is all that now remains of the wealthy 
abbey of that name. This abbey was founded by King 
David I. about seven hundred years ago. It was very 
richly endowed and had great possessions. 

In the picture, we have given a view of the north side 
of the Palace, so that not only is that fabric seen, but the 
church of the ancient abbey. 

ROSLIN CASTLE. 

This ancient Castle stands upon the river North Esk, 
a little below Pennycuick, and about seven miles from 
Edinburgh. It is situated upon a lofty rock which is 
formed into a peninsula by the river which washes its 
base; and on the land side is separated from the adjoin¬ 
ing grounds by a deep ravine, over which there is access 
by a stone bridge still remaining entire. The appearance 
of the Castle on its lofty seat, and of the surrounding 
scenery, is romantic and picturesque. It is a favourite 
place of resort for the inhabitants of Edinburgh during 
the summer months. The Castle is now almost entirely 
ruinous, although we believe a small portion of it is still 
inhabited. 

Neither history nor tradition inform us when this Castle 
was built, but it must have been at an early period. 
Waldernus de Sancto Clere, was one of the Norman Ba¬ 
rons who came to England with William the Conqueror, 
and fought at the battle of Hastings. William de Sancto 
Clere, son to Waldernus, came to Scotland, and obtained 
a grant of the Barony of Roslin from Malcolm Canmore, 
in the beginning of the twelfth century. It is not impro¬ 
bable that the Castle was first erected by him, although 
it has no doubt received many subsequent additions and 
alterations. 


ROSLIN CASTLE. 


11 


The first time it is mentioned in history is in the reign 
of James II. when we read of James, first Lord Hamil¬ 
ton, ancestor of the present ducal family of that name, 
being confined in it. He had been engaged in the rebel¬ 
lion raised against James, by the powerful and ambitious 
Earls of Douglas; and, on its suppression, he was for a 
short time sent here, but was afterwards received into 
great favour by the King. In 1554, the Castle was burn¬ 
ed by the army of Henry VIII. of England, at the time 
they destroyed Leith and Craigmillar Castle. 

This Castle was for ages the seat of the St Clares, or 
Sinclairs, descended from William de Sancto Clere above 
mentioned. They became a family of great note in this 
county, and from them are descended all the families of 
that name in Scotland. They had formerly very exten¬ 
sive possessions and many titles, being Earls of Caith¬ 
ness and Orkney, Dukes of Oldenburgh, &c. and were 
for many generations patrons and grand masters of ma¬ 
sonry in Scotland. This honour was conferred upon 
them by James II., and continued in their family till the 
year 1736, when it was resigned by William St Clair of 
Roslin, Esq. who having been obliged to sell his ancient 
patrimony, and having no children, was anxious that the 
office of grand master should not become vacant at his 
death. Since which period the office has ceased to be 
hereditary. 

Of the opulence and grandeur of this family in early 
times, some idea may be formed from the following de¬ 
scription, given in a MS. in the Advocate’s Library, of 
the state kept up by William St Clare, the founder of the 
Chapel after described:—“About that time (?’. e. build¬ 
ing of the Chapel, 1440,) the town of Roslin, being next 
to Edinburgh, and Haddington, in East-Lothian, became 
very populous by the great concourse of all ranks and 
degrees of visitors that resorted to this Prince, at his pa¬ 
lace of the Castle of Roslin, for he kept a great court, and 


12 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


was royally served at his own table, in vessels of gold 
and silver. Lord Dirleton being his master of the house¬ 
hold ; Lord Borthwick his cup-bearer; and Lord Fleming 
his carver; in whose absence they had deputies to attend, 
viz. Stewart, Laird of Drumlanrig; Tweedie, Laird of 
Drumerline; and Sandilands, Laird of Calder. He had 
his halls, and other apartments, richly adorned with em¬ 
broidered hangings. He flourished in the reigns of James 
the First and Second. Flis Princess, Elizabeth Douglas, 
already mentioned, was served by seventy-five gentle¬ 
women, whereof fifty-three were daughters of noblemen, 
all clothed in velvets and silks, with their chains of gold, 
and other ornaments; and was attended by two hundred 
riding gentlemen in all her journeys; and if it happened 
to be dark when she went to Edinburgh, where her lodg¬ 
ings were, at the foot of Blackfriar’s Wynd, eighty lighted 
torches were carried before her.” 

BATTLE OF ROSLIN. 

In the neighbourhood of the Castle is the scene of a 
battle, or rather of three battles, which were fought on 
one day between the Scots and the English, on 14th Fe¬ 
bruary, 1303. There is a very great difference in the ac¬ 
counts given of this battle by the Scots and English his¬ 
torians. The following; is the Scottish account:—During- 
a truce, Ralf Confrey, Treasurer to Edward I. invaded 
Scotland at the head of 30,000 men, well armed, and 
mostly mounted on horseback. With a view to plunder, 
he divided his forces into three bodies; and having 
reached this place, encamped them in three different sta¬ 
tions. On hearing of this invasion, Sir Simon Fraser and 
Sir John Cumming, the Scottish Generals, drew together 
such an army as they could muster in haste, amounting 
to 8,000, or at most to 10,000 men. 


CHAPEL OF ROSLIN. 


13 


With this force they marched from Biggar in Lanark¬ 
shire, and fell unexpectedly on the first division of the 
enemy, whom they totally routed, driving those who es¬ 
caped back upon the second camp. Here, on the alarm 
being given, the English took to arms, and sallied forth 
on the Scots, who were employed dividing the spoil. 
The conflict was again renewed, and the Scots were again 
victorious. But scarcely had they begun to refresh them¬ 
selves after this bloody engagement, when a third army 
appeared in view. Accordingly a third battle ensued, and 
the Scots were for the third time victorious. 

CHAPEL OF ROSLIN. 

Upon the hill, immediately above the Castle, is the 
Chapel of Roslin. It was founded previous to the year 
1484, by William,* Earl of Caithness and Orkney, for a 
provost, six prebendaries, and two singing boys. It is a 
beautiful piece of architecture, and notwithstanding some 
damage it sustained by a mob at the revolution, in 1688, 
is still very entire. Its style is commonly called the 
Gothic, but it is now more properly designated the Eng¬ 
lish or Pointed style of architecture. 

The founder dying about the year 1484, before the 
building was finished, it was carried on and completed 
by Sir Oliver Sinclair of Roslin, his eldest son of a se¬ 
cond marriage, whose mother was Lady Margaret Su¬ 
therland, descended from the blood royal, her great 
grand-mother Jean, being the younger daughter of King 
Robert Bruce. 

The following tale is related respecting part of this 
building:—The master-mason, it is said, meeting with 
difficulties in the execution of the design, found it necessary 
to go to Rome, where the design had been drawn, for far¬ 
ther information. One of his apprentices carried on the 
work in his absence; and, it is alleged, even executed 


14 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


some portions of it which had most puzzled the master. In 
particular, it is said, he finished a fine fluted pillar which 
stands near the high altar, and which is still called the 
apprentice’s pillar. It is richly ornamented with wreaths 
of foliage and flowers, highly relieved, and twisting spi¬ 
rally round it. The master, on his return, stung with 
envy of the great abilities of his apprentice, slew him with 
a blow of a mason’s hammer. 

In support of this tale, an old woman who was wont to 
show the building, used to point out not only the pillar 
itself, but several heads supporting brackets in the wall 
said to be the heads of the parties. One is that of the 
master, another that of the apprentice, whose wound is 
marked with red ochre ; and the head of a weeping female 
is said to represent that of his mother. There can be little 
doubt that this tale is entirely fiction; and it may be ob¬ 
served that the head pointed out as that of the unfortu¬ 
nate apprentice, exhibits a bearded old man. 

The whole of this Chapel is profusely decorated with 
sculpture both within and without. The roof, the capi¬ 
tals, key-stones and architraves, are all overlaid with 
sculptures, representing flowers, foliage, passages of sa¬ 
cred history, texts of scripture, and grotesque figures ; all 
executed with astonishing neatness. So exquisitely fine 
are the wreathings of flowers and foliage on the appren¬ 
tice’s pillar, that the author of a pamphlet descriptive of 
this Chapel, says he can liken them to nothing but Brus¬ 
sels lace. The ornaments upon the capital of this pillar 
are the story of Abraham offering up Isaac; and a man 
blowing on the Highland bagpipe, with another man ly¬ 
ing beside him. 

Here were formerly several monuments, two of which 
are remarkable, that of George Earl of Caithness, who 
died A. D. 1582 ; and another, engraven on stone, sup¬ 
posed to be for Alexander Earl of Sutherland, grandson 
to King Robert Bruce. He is represented in armour, in 












. 








■- 



















* 









' 



* 


* 






. 8 i 




. 









■ • 




* *. 


















Gray & S 


1) y 















































































HAWTHORNDEN. 


15 


a cumbent posture, his hands on his breast, as in the act 
of prayer; on each side his head, a lion rampant, and at 
his feet a greyhound. At the foot of the third and fourth 
pillars, between them and the north wall, there is a large 
flag-stone covering the opening to the family vault, where 
ten barons of Roslin lie entombed. This vault is so dry, 
that their bodies have been found entire after eighty 
years, and as fresh as when first buried. “ These barons,” 
says Mr Hay, in his MS. in the Advocate’s Library, 
“ were buried of old in their armour, without any coffin; 
and were successively, by charter, the patrons and pro¬ 
tectors of Masonry in Scotland. And,” continues he, 
“ the late Roslin, my grandfather (grandfather to the 
present Roslin,) was the first that was buried in a coffin, 
against the sentiments of King James the Seventh, who 
was then in Scotland, and several other persons well 
versed in antiquity, to whom my mother (Jean Spottis- 
wood, grand-niece of Archbishop Spottiswood,) would not 
hearken, thinking it beggarly to be buried in that man¬ 
ner.” The great expense she was at in burying her hus¬ 
band, occasioned the sumptuary acts which were made 
in subsequent parliaments. 

HAWTHORNDEN. 

This place is remarkable for having been the property 
and residence of William Drummond, the celebrated 
Scottish poet and historian. To this beautiful retreat 
Ben Johnson, the English dramatist, walked all the way 
from London for the purpose of visiting Drummond, and 
spending a few weeks with him. Drummond was very 
zealously attached to the cause of Charles I.; and it is 
said that the fate of that monarch hastened the poet’s 
death. He died 4th Dec. 1649. 

It is situated on the north Esk, about half a mile below 
Roslin Castle. In walking from the one to the other, 


16 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


there is a succession of beautiful and romantic scenery. 
The banks of the river are broken and abruptly precipi¬ 
tous, and almost on every spot where a tree can grow, 
they are covered with wood. The House of Haw thorn- 
den is built upon the summit of a precipice which over¬ 
hangs the south side of the river. Immediately un¬ 
der it are several curious caves, which have apparently 
been hewn out of the rock. Various conjectures have 
arisen as to the origin of these caves; among others, it is 
said they were a stronghold of the Pictish Kings. One 
of them is denominated the king’s gallery, another the 
king’s bedchamber, and a third the guard-room. De¬ 
tached from the principal caves, there is a small one call¬ 
ed the cypress grove, where, it is said, Drummond com¬ 
posed many of his poems. The most probable opinion, 
with regard to these caves, is, that they were intended as 
places of refuge during the destructive wars that long 
subsisted between the Scots and Piets, or afterwards be¬ 
tween the English and Scots. 

It was in these caverns that the famous Sir Alexander 
Ramsay, an ancestor of the Earls of Dalhousie, and who 
performed many memorable exploits during the contest 
for the Crown between Bruce and Baliol, used to conceal 
himself. Here he w r as resorted to by the young warriors 
of his day, who considered it an essential piece of mi¬ 
litary education to have been of his band ; and from 
hence they sallied forth as occasion presented itself to ha¬ 
rass and annoy the English, then in possession of Edin¬ 
burgh. 


CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE. 

This remarkable remnant of antiquity is situated in 
the parish of Libberton, and within three miles of Edin¬ 
burgh. It stands on the summit of a circular hill, com¬ 
mands on all sides an extensive prospect, and must have 


CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE. 


17 


been at one time a place of considerable strength. It is im¬ 
possible now to say when it was first constructed, but the 
wall which surrounds it appears, from an inscription over 
the gate, to have been built in 1427. 

The principal front of the Castle is towards the north ; 
and over one of the doors is carved in stone a press and a 
barrel, or ton, in allusion to the name of Preston. The wall 
which surrounds it is considerably thick and thirty feet 
high ; it has parapets and turrets, or watch-houses, at re¬ 
gular distances. The inner court is of some extent; and at 
its west end there is a large building, consisting of several 
stately apartments, erected in 1661, by Sir John Gilmour, 
Lord President of the Court of Session, which for some time 
was the mansion-house of that family. A portion of the 
Castle was lately inhabited. 

Craigmillar anciently belonged to a family of the same 
name. In 1374 it was purchased by Sir Simon de Preston. 
His family continued in possession of it for nearly three 
hundred years; and during that period they maintained an 
eminent character, were distinguished by many public marks 
of respect, and had great influence in the neighbouring city 
of Edinburgh. 

In 1477, John Earl of Marr, a younger brother of James 
III., was confined here. It was the residence of James V. f 
during his minority, at the time he left Edinburgh Castle on 
account of the plague ; and in this castle the Queen Dowager 
his mother, by favour of Lord Erskine, his constant attend¬ 
ant and guardian, had frequent interviews with him, when 
the Duke of Albany, the governor, was in France. It was 
taken, was much destroyed, and a great deal burnt by the 
English in 1543. 

Queen Mary resided very often in this Castle after her 
return from France, in 1561. Her French servants mostly 
resided in the neighbouring village, which from that circum¬ 
stance had the appellation of Little France; and the name 
is still retained. There is a room in the Castle which goes 


18 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


under the name of Queen Mary’s, for it is said she slept in 
it; on this account it is always shown to strangers. It is 
situated immediately under the south-east turret; it has a 
fire-place; but it is not above seven feet long, and five 
broad. 


CRA1GCROOK CASTLE. 

This ancient structure is situated in the parish of Cor- 
storphin, within a few miles of Edinburgh. It is principally 
remarkable as being the seat of Francis Jeffrey, Esq. eminent 
alike in letters, politics, and law. The house is an old tur- 
reted mansion, much patched throughout the whole, though 
considerably encreased in its accommodations since its pre¬ 
sent possessor came to reside at it. The situation is ex¬ 
tremely beautiful, and might exercise the descriptive pen 
even of a Gilpin ; but as the interest which Craigcrook in¬ 
spires arises chiefly from its being the residence of a dis¬ 
tinguished public character, perhaps the following account of 
it, written by an American, who visited Edinburgh in 1827, 
and addressed to a Journalist in New York, will be more 
gratifying to the reader than a mere topographical detail;— 

MR JEFFREY. 

From the striking monuments, both of nature and art, 
which adorn the metropolis of Scotland, a stranger soon 
turns with undiminished interest to her eminent men, or 
those who, in cant phrase, are called the lions of the day. 
Among the numerous characters which that title embraces, 
the most conspicuous beyond all comparison, though in him¬ 
self, both morally and physically, the least ostentatious of 
any human being alive, stands the celebrated author of the 
Waverley Novels. But of him and his works, I have said 
so much on a former occasion, that it is unnecessary, for the 
present moment at least, to recur to them again. Next to 
Sir Walter, in point of interest as a lionj they reckon here, 


CRAIGCROQK CASTLE. 


19 


as if by universal consent, their leading barrister, Mr Jeffrey, 
better known with us as the editor of their famous Review, 
and indisputably one of the first ei spirits’* of the age. Be¬ 
fore communicating further particulars as to this gentleman^ 
however, I should premise, that it is not without some “ com¬ 
punctious visitings of naturesince I am aware that, in all 
probability, you will give this letter to the public, through 
the columns of your journal. 

In my sketches of the poets of Rydal Water and the 
Granta, I hinted at the misgivings of conscience which every 
person must feel, in making a spectacle of eminent men, and 
in speaking of their persons, manners, and conversation, with 
the same freedom as of inanimate nature or of an ordinary 
show. In most instances I have consoled myself with the 
reflection, that a series of hasty letters, thrown off through 
the medium of a newspaper, with the hope of affording a 
temporary amusement to your readers, would probably never 
meet the eyes of those gentlemen, who have occasionally 
been made the subjects of my sketches, and that to them, 
the correspondence which I carry on with you, would be as 
the affairs of another world. But, in the present case, cir¬ 
cumstances are materially different; and though the family of 
whom 1 am about to speak should never give me another 
thought, they have relatives and friends beyond the Atlantic, 
whose good opinion I would not willingly forfeit. 

One of these relatives in New York was so kind as to 
give me a letter of introduction to the reputed Editor of the 
Edinburgh Review, whose legal talents and literary attain¬ 
ments are almost as well known in our country as in his 
own. Immediately after our arrival, the note to him, like 
those to others, was cast upon the waters, in a way which 
left it perfectly optional to show us any civilities or not. 
Learning from the messenger who delivered it with my ad¬ 
dress, that the gentleman referred to was at Glasgow on 
business, to be absent some days, I gave up all expectation 
of having my curiosity gratified by seeing him. He return- 


20 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ed on Wednesday, and did me the honour to call immedi¬ 
ately, and left his card at the hotel while we were out. This 
mark of politeness and attention was followed on the same 
evening by a cordial note, inviting my friend and myself to 
dinner, either the next day, en famille, or on the Saturday 
following, in a circle of his friends, thus leaving an alterna¬ 
tive to us, as might best comport with our arrangements. 
As we had already made preparations for our departure to¬ 
wards the north, as well as from other considerations, the 
former was preferred, and an answer returned to that effect- 
Not satisfying himself with these civilities, he despatched 
another friendly note the next morning, requesting us to 
come an hour before the time mentioned for dinner, and he 
would shew us the scenery and interesting objects in the 
vicinity of his residence three miles from town. 

At five o’clock we took a coach and set out for his seat 
in a north-westerly direction from Edinburgh. After seve¬ 
ral cross roads, leading through a rural and romantic dis¬ 
trict, had been traversed, the house was at length discovered, 
surrounded by and half hidden by trees. It was once a 
chapelry belonging to Holyrood, and the antique building 
has undergone few alterations. Old fashioned turrets and 
the cross crowd its battlements, and give it quite a castlelike 
appearance. Its present proprietor has added a wing, pre¬ 
serving the same style of architecture. On arriving at the 
door, the servant led us up a narrow, winding, and ancient 
flight of steps, and showed us into the sitting room. He 
remarked that his master had gone out for a moment to ac¬ 
company some ladies as far as the road, and invited us to 
walk in the garden till his return. 

A promenade through the grounds had scarcely been com¬ 
menced, when hearing a voice behind us crying “ halloo 
there !” we faced about, and saw a small well-built handsome 
man, apparently at the age of little more than forty, clad in a 
blue frock coat, white pantaloons, checked cravat, and a fa¬ 
shionable hat, with a riding whip in his hand, advancing 


CRAIGCROOK CASTLE. 


21 


towards us with a pace next to running. He came and took 
us both by the hand at once, apologizing for being out at 
the moment of our arrival. His face would have been in¬ 
stantly recognized from an admirable bust of him which we 
had been accustomed to admire at Constable’s. His fea¬ 
tures are striking, particularly his mouth and eye. The 
vivid and searching flashes of the latter, with the rapidity of 
his gesticulation, and the sprightliness of all his motions, in¬ 
dicate no common share of genius. His mind is so clearly 
depicted in his countenance, that I believe the poorest judge 
of human nature would not take him for an ordinary man. 

Remarking that we were on the right road towards the 
point, to which lie intended to conduct us, the walk was 
extended through an extensive lawn, occupied as a pasture, 
and skirted on the west by an eminence, several hundred feet 
in height, clothed to the top with a grove of oak. Just 
within this fringe of woods, a stone wall without a gate or 
passage, seemed to intercept our further progress; but he 
promptly leaped the barrier, as if he had been used to it, 
and w r e followed his example. A winding and obscure foot¬ 
path leads up the slope, and at suitable distances, as well as 
on the summit, rural seats have been placed for the accom¬ 
modation of ramblers. The hill and woods do not belong 
to him ; hut he remarked, that exercise was necessary for 
him after the sedentary pursuits of the day, and that his 
neighbour had permitted him to make use of this walk, 
and to furnish it with resting places, whither he was fre¬ 
quently in the habit of resorting in the evening. 

The view from the rocky and woody top of the eminence 
is one of the wildest and richest in the vicinity of Edin¬ 
burgh. We reached it before sunset of a clear and mild au¬ 
tumnal day, the departing splendours of which were reflect¬ 
ed in all their beauty from Arthur’s Seat, Salisbury Craigs, 
the Castle, and the distant turrets of the city. To the right, 
the Lammermuir Hills were still in sight; and on the left 
the estuary of the Forth, from a point at some distance above 


22 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


us to its union with the ocean, sent back from its quiet wa¬ 
ters, from its islands, from its white sails and its picturesque 
shores, the fading glories of evening. A rural foreground, 
where flocks and herds are seen peacefully grazing, and 
sprinkled with houses, stretches from the base of the hill to 
’ the margin of the Forth. It is not surprizing that a man of 
taste, with a fondness for natural scenery, should feel some 
degree of pride and pleasure, in pointing out objects with 
which his frequent contemplations had rendered him fami¬ 
liar. Certainly his complacency and obliging civility in in¬ 
troducing us to such a scene, did not exceed our admiration ; 
and half an hour passed away delightfully in the ramble. 

This walk, and the conversation which its little incidents 
suggested, made us better acquainted with one of the most 
eminent men of the age, than the intercourse of a week could 
have done, amidst the cold and repulsive formalities of fa¬ 
shionable life. His manners were at once discovered to be 
plain, frank, easy, and polite, reminding me every moment 
of one of our own distinguished lawyers. In the sort of 
high-way and bye-way conversation which took place at 
this time, he was rather careless of his diction, bringing his 
mind down to the level of common-place topics in the most 
familiar way, and seldom affording any indications of his im¬ 
petuous eloquence, or the measured grandeur of his written 
periods. His colloquial powers, however, I afterwards dis¬ 
covered to be equal if not superior to his forensic talents, or 
his capabilities as a writer. 

On our return to the house, he presented us to his lady 
and little daughter, who is an only child, and who hung 
around her parents with the most affectionate and playful 
fondness. The whole family possess the faculty of placing 
the stranger at his ease, and of rendering themselves agree¬ 
able by a cordial and unaffected politeness. In the house 
itself, in the furniture, and ornaments of the rooms, in dress, 
and the style of conversation, an elegant and charming sim¬ 
plicity predominates; and the Editor passes his summers 


CRAIGCROOK CASTLE. 


23 


just as every literary man would wish, in retirement, with 
books and a pleasant family, free from the bustle and sense¬ 
less parade of the world. 

At six o’clock we were introduced into the dining-room, 
and seated at the table, crowned with a series of Scotch 
dishes, from barley-broth down to the bannock, which is a 
thin cake made of oatmeal. It is a national and favourite 
kind of bread with all classes, and I believe even Dr John¬ 
son became reconciled to it, before his return from the He¬ 
brides. Two species of fish from the Forth, a desert of 
native fruits, half a dozen kinds of wine, one of which was 
old Madeira from his friends in the United States, and a 
round of whisky, the usual Jincile of a Scotch dinner, were 
among the varieties of the festive board, which was spread 
with neatness, hut with no marks of extravagance. 

The conversation at table turned upon a variety of topics, 
chiefly relating to the scenes wc had just visited, and those 
to which we were going, with both of which the Editor and 
his lady are familiar. They are in the habit of visiting Loch 
Lomond twice a-year, and have walked to the top of Ben 
Lomond, a distance of five or six miles from the base, over 
a rugged road. The view from the top was described as 
being wide arfd magnificent, extending from sea to sea. 
With them, this mountain and lake are favourite portions 
of Highland scenery. Among the English lakes, the heads 
of Windermere, Caniston, and UlLwater are preferred. The 
discriminating comments of such judges were instructive and 
acceptable. 

A circulation of “ the mountain dew,” (I mean round the 
table, and not through the warm currents of the blood,) led 
to some remarks on the comparative effects of beer and 
whisky upon the constitution. It was stated, that from a 
series of well attested facts, it had been satisfactorily ascer¬ 
tained, that the excessive use of the former, which leads to 
plethora and apoplexy, is far more pernicious than that of 
the latter. The contrary opinion has generally been main- 


24 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


tained, and if this new doctrine is correct, there should be 
less anxiety in our country to break up the distilleries and 
establish breweries. Perhaps it would he an improvement 
to supersede the use of both, by extending our orchards and 
planting vineyards. 

After dinner, we were conducted into the very sanctum 
sanctorum of the Editor, which contains his miscellaneous 
library, and in which he does his writing. It is an antique, 
hut comfortable little room, enjoying a perfect seclusion, 
with a low, solitary window, looking out upon the hill we 
had climbed. In the centre of the apartment stands an old 
fashioned table, covered with green haze, and very much re¬ 
sembling one of those terrific stands on which surgeons per¬ 
form their sanguinary operations. To preserve the figure, I 
could not but think that on this fatal board many a learned 
dunce and literary coxcomb had writhed beneath the dis¬ 
secting knife of the Reviewer. Innocent blood has doubt¬ 
less, in some instances, been shed ; hut it is no more than 
justice to add, that the general character of the Edinburgh 
Review has been liberal, even towards the United States, in 
comparison with Blackwood and the Quarterly. 

On our return to the drawing-room, tea was served up, 
and delightful as well as instructive conversation of an hour 
or two succeeded. The ratiocinative powers of the charm¬ 
ing little man (for Mr Jeffrey is considerably under the com¬ 
mon size) shone forth in all their glory. The character of 
General Lafayette, and the warm reception which had been 
given to him in the United States, drew forth one of the 
finest panegyrics, and grandest flights of colloquial eloquence 
I have ever heard. Such an encomium emanating from such 
a source, made us prouder than ever of our country. As the 
same liberal sentiments had a short time before been openly 
expressed in a public assembly at Edinburgh, they no doubt 
came warm from the heart, and manifested in him who gave 
them such beautiful and emphatic utterance a sincere at¬ 
tachment to free principles. Here let me remark that the 


MR JEFFREY. 


25 


visit of Lafayette was no less honourable to our country 
than to himself. An event of so much prominence attract¬ 
ed general attention in Europe; and all who lay claim to 
any liberality of feeling speak of the subject in terms of ad¬ 
miration. It is viewed, in its proper light, as a spontaneous 
tribute of gratitude from a great and generous nation towards 
one of its early benefactors, whose services, after the lapse 
of half a century, might have been overlooked, without any 
positive charge of a dereliction of duty. National gratitude 
is generally an inert and frigid virtue, under any form of 
government, and its tardy or reluctant operation has been 
peculiarly chargeable upon Republics. This noble example 
of ours is, therefore, placed in a stronger point of view by 
contrast, and the generous burst of enthusiasm which it 
produced, arising from no other motive than genuine feeling, 
has more unequivocally developed the character of our coun¬ 
trymen, than a century of little items could have done. 

But I am wandering from my subject, and after so long a 
detail, dare hardly ask you to listen even to a conversation 
respecting the living poets, whose respective merits were 
spoken of with a frankness, perhaps with a confidence, which 
I will not betray. An editor, however, who is in the habit 
f expressing his opinions boldly through the medium of a 
public journal, has fewer secrets than most people; and 
probably nothing was broached in a conversation with stran¬ 
gers, which would not have been expressed with the same 
freedom in the pages of the Edinburgh Review. Apart from 
the dread of wearying you, it would obviously far exceed the 
limits of a single letter to detail all that passed during this, 
to me at least, celebrated evening. I can go little farther, 
therefore, than to notice Mr Jeffrey’s extraordinary powers 
of conversation. But conscious bow feebly my own pen 
would describe these, I borrow, for your gratification, their 
characteristic features, as drawn by the hand of a master. 
To use his ipsissima verba, “ the whole tenor of Mr Jeffrey’s 
conversation, on topics of interest, was so pitched, that a 

B 


26 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


proser, or a person at all ambitious, in the green room phrase, 
to make an effect, would undoubtedly have found himself 
most grievously out of place.” Amidst all this absence of 
f< preparation,” however, (for it is impossible to talk of con¬ 
versation without using French words)—I have never, I be¬ 
lieve, heard so many ideas thrown out by any man in so 
short a space of time, and apparently with such entire nega¬ 
tion of exertion. His conversation acted upon me like the 
first delightful hour after taking opium. The thoughts he 
scattered so readily around him (his words rapid, and won¬ 
derfully rapid as they are, appearing to be continually pant¬ 
ing after his conceptions)—his thoughts, I say, were at once 
so striking, and so just, that they took in succession entire 
possession of my imagination, and yet with so felicitous a 
tact did he forbear from expressing any one of these too fully 
that the reason was always kept in a pleasant kind of excite¬ 
ment, by the endeavour more thoroughly to examine their 
bearings. It is quite impossible to listen to them for a mo¬ 
ment, without recalling all the best qualities of his composi¬ 
tion—and yet I suspect his conversation is calculated to leave 
one with even a higher idea of his mind, at least of its ferti¬ 
lity, than the best of his writings. I have heard some men 
display more profoundness of reflection, and others a much 
greater command of the conversational picturesque—but I 
never before witnessed any thing to be compared with the 
blending together of apparently little consistent powers in 
the whole train of his discourse. Such a power in the first 
place, of throwing away at once every useless part of the 
idea to be discussed, and then such a happy redundancy of 
imagination as to present the essential and reserved part in 
its every possible relation, and point of view—and all this 
connected with so much of the plain scavoir fairc of actual 
existence, and such a thorough scorn of mystification, it is 
really a very wonderful intellectual coalition. The largeness 
of the views suggested by his speculative understanding, and 
the shrewdness with which his sound and close judgment 


MR JEFFREY. 


27 


seems to scrutinize them after they are suggested—these 
alone would be sufficient to make his conversation one of 
the most remarkable things in the world. But then he in¬ 
vests all this ground work with such a play of fancy, wit, 
sarcasm , persiflage, every thing in that way except humour— 
which again, were they united in any person devoid either 
of the depth or the justness of Mr Jeffrey’s intellect, would 
unquestionably render that person one of the most fascinat¬ 
ing of ail possible companions. The Stagyrite, who places 
his summum bonuvz in having one's faculties kept at work ? 
would certainly have thought himself in Elysium, had he 
been so fortunate as to discuss a flask of Chian in company 
with Mr Jeffrey. 

At ten o’clock in the evening, after receiving, as a part¬ 
ing favour, a memorandum of the most eligible route to be 
pursued through the Highlands, and the warmest wishes for 
a pleasant tour, with an offer of any assistance which could 
facilitate the object of our travels, we took leave of the fa¬ 
mily with unmingled feelings of gratitude for their kindness^ 
and hastened home to prepare for our departure next morn¬ 
ing.” 

In addition to this graphic account of the American travel¬ 
ler’s visit to Craigcrook Castle, it only remains to notice Mr 
Jeffrey’s oratorical talents, which are of the very highest order. 
He has been characterised, by his own countrymen, as the 
prince of modern Rhetoricians, and it is generally admitted that 
there is no speaker in Britain who deals out his illustrations 
in greater profusion, or heaps upon every image and every 
thought that springs from an indefatigable intellect, so lavish 
a garniture of most exquisite and most apposite language. Pro¬ 
bably his greatest excellence, however, consists in his power 
of generalising. No multiplicity of facts can distract or dazzle 
him for a moment; he has a clue that brings him safe and 
triumphant out of every labyrinth ; and he walks in the dark¬ 
est recesses of his detail, with the air and confidence of one 
that is sure of his conclusion. The delight which he com- 


28 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


municates to his hearers by the display of powers so extra¬ 
ordinary, is sufficient to make them rejoice in the confession 
of their own inferiority; careless of the point to which his 
steps are turned, they soon are satisfied to gaze upon his 
brightness, and be contented that such a star cannot lead 
them into darkness. A plain man who, for the first time, is 
addressed by him, experiences, says the sanie author whose 
opinion we have quoted, a kind of sensation to which he has 
heretofore been totally a stranger. He has no leisure to 
think of the merits of the case before him ; but is swallowed 
up in dumb overwhelming wonder of the miraculous vehicle 
in which one side of it is expounded. 

Thus distinguished alike in eloquence and literature, it is 
not surprising that Mr Jeffrey should have risen to one of the 
highest and most responsible offices in the state. When Earl 
Grey succeeded the Duke of Wellington as Premier, Mr 
Jeffrey was appointed Lord Advocate for Scotland. Of 
course he immediately obtained a seat in Parliament, and 
on the great question of Parliamentary Reform, demonstrat¬ 
ed that, in his case at least, as well as in that of his friend. 
Lord Brougham, the eloquence of the bar, and the eloquence 
of the senate, were one and the same thing. 

EMINENT MEN IN MID-LOTHIAN. 

This county has produced many remarkable men, among 
whom may be mentioned, as entitled to particular notice and 
distinction, Spottiswood, archbishop of Glasgow, and histo¬ 
rian of the Scottish Church. Napier of Mercheston, the ce¬ 
lebrated inventor of the logarithms. Sir Thomas Hope of 
Granton, Lord Advocate in the reign of Charles I., a most dis¬ 
tinguished lawyer, and eminent for the great assistance he gave 
towards establishing the Presbyterian mode of worhip. Sir 
George McKenzie, afterwards Earl of Cromarty, equally emi¬ 
nent, or rather notorious, as an enemy to Presbyterianism, but 
whose writings on Theology and Municipal Law, and whose 


EMINENT MEN IN MID-LOTHIAN. 


29 


zeal for the advancement of learning, are well known. Dr 
William Cullen, the celebrated physician. Sir Thomas Craig, 
the luminous expounder of the feudal system. Dr Wilkie, the 
author of the Epigoniad, and Professor of Natural Philoso¬ 
phy at St Andrew’s. Tytler of Woodhouselee, the author of 
an Inquiry into the Evidence against Mary Queen of Scots. 
And Dr William Robertson, whose historical works at once 
established the fame of their author, and conferred distinguish¬ 
ed honour on the literature of his country. This county also 
gave birth to the notorious John Law of Laurieston, so cele¬ 
brated as the author of the Mississippi Scheme in France. In 
the parish of Cramond is an ancient mansion, which was the 
property of Law, and, till within these few years, belonged to 
his family. At a period when political economy was yet in its 
infancy, he became a bold speculator in that science, and pub- 
ished a financial work, which brought him into notice both as 
a man of talents and as a projector. At the time when Scot¬ 
land was severely depressed by the failure of the Darien expe¬ 
dition, and the losses sustained by the African Company, Law 
brought forward a plan which, according to his theory, was 
not only to renovate her exhausted credit and resources, but 
was calculated to raise her to the very pinnacle of wealth 
and prosperity. This project, for the exaltation of Scotland* 
consisted in appointing a Council of Trade, under the con- 
troul of Parliament, with a power to issue notes, which were 
to be current in three ways :—1^, By purchasing lands, and 
paying the price in these notes. 2 dly, By purchasing lands 
at a full price, to be paid in these notes, but with a power 
of redemption for a certain time, in favour of the sellers; 
and, lastly, by lending money to proprietors of land at ordi¬ 
nary interest, to the extent of two-thirds of the value of their 
land. It was alleged that the security of the notes would be 
undoubted, being thus uniformly fixed upon land; and that 
they would be preferred to gold and silver. And it was pro¬ 
posed, to declare them a legal tender of payment, or, in other 
words, to compel the acceptance of them in all transactions. 


30 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


The scheme is said to have been considered at that time as ex¬ 
tremely practicable; but an apprehension was entertained that 
Government would ultimately become the principal creditor, 
and thereby the master of every proprietor of land in the 
nation. A majority of tile Parliament, accordingly, set their 
faces against the project, and Law, soon after, betook him¬ 
self to the Continent, visiting the principal cities of Europe? 
where his personal address, with his uncommon skill and 
success as a gamester, procured him universal countenance 
and support. He at length settled n Paris, where, availing 
himself of the financial embarr ts of the Government, 
he tendered his services tor, se of restoring public 

credit, and these being «* , he projected his famous 

Mississippi scheme, whi . time nearly turned the heads 

of the people of France. .inancial bubble soon burst, how¬ 
ever, and Law was under the necessity of flying from that 
kingdom to escape the fury of the people. He ultimately re¬ 
tired to Venice, where, in the year 1729, in the fifty-eighth 
year of his age, he died in obscurity and indigence. His 
descendants afterwards settled in France, and appear to have 
acquired some distinction in that country. The ratification 
of peace, in 1801, was brought to London by Citizen Lau- 
rieston, an aid-de-camp of Bonaparte, and the owner of Lau- 
rieston, in Mid-Lothian. This ancient seat was purchased 
not long ago by an Edinburgh banker. 

EAST LOTHIAN, OR HADDINGTONSHIRE. 

This shire lies to the east of Mid-Lothian, along that 
part of the southern shore of the Frith of Forth where it 
falls into the German Ocean ; and which, from its breadth, 
may here be more properly called an arm of the sea. It is 
from twenty-four to twenty-seven miles in length, and from 
ten to fifteen miles in breadth. It abounds with excellent 
coal, limestone, and freestone. The climate is comparatively 
mild and temperate ; and the soil is exceedingly fertile, and 


the Mu 
is an anCi 
vithin 







BUNBAR CASTLE 


LINCLUBDEN COLLEGE 


ABBOTSFORD 




































Dunbar castle. 


31 


in general highly cultivated. Haddington is the county town, 
and Dunbar is next to it in point of importance. 


DUNBAR CASTLE. 

In the feudal times this fortress was of great strength and 
importance. It is situated on a reef of rocks, which projects 
into the sea near the harbour of the town. In many places 
the sea runs under the rocks through caverns formed by fis¬ 
sures in the stone. It is of great antiquity, being mentioned 
as early as 858, when it was burned by Kenneth, King of 
Scotland. It was long deemed one of the keys of the king¬ 
dom, but is now in complete ruins. In 1073, it appears to 
have belonged to the Earls of March. In 1296, the Earl of 
March having joined King Edward I. of England, the castle 
was delivered up by his wife to the Scots. Earl Warren, 
the English commander, with a chosen body of troops, was 
sent to retake it. The whole force of Scotland was assem¬ 
bled to oppose him ; and the Scots, trusting to their numbers, 
rushed down the heights on the English ; but being repulsed 
with great loss, the castle shortly after surrendered. 

In 1337-8, this castle, which had been newly fortified? 
was besieged by the English, under the Earl of Salisbury. 
The Earl of March being absent, it was defended by his wife, 
who, from the darkness of her complexion, was vulgarly call¬ 
ed Black Agnes. This lady, during the siege, performed all 
the duties of a bold and vigorous commander, animating the 
garrison by her exhortations, her munificence, and her ex¬ 
ample. When the battering engines of the besiegers hurled 
huge stones against the battlements, she, as in scorn, ordered 
one of her female attendants to wipe off the dust with her 
handkerchief; and when the Earl of Salisbury commanded 
an enormous machine called the Sow, to be advanced to the 
foot of the wall, she scoffingly advised him to take good care 
of his sow, for she would soon make her cast her pigs (mean- 


32 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ing the soldiers within it), and then she ordered a large rock 
to be let fall on it, which crushed it in pieces. 

The Earl of Salisbury, finding the resistance so stout, at¬ 
tempted next to obtain possession of the castle, by bribing 
the person who had charge of the gates, to leave them open. 
This he agreed to do, but at the same time he disclosed the 
plot to the Countess. Salisbury himself commanded the party 
who were to enter, and, according to agreement, found the 
gates open. He was thus advancing at the head of his men, 
when Sir John Copeland, one of his attendants, hastily pass¬ 
ing on before him, the portcullis was let down, and Cope¬ 
land, mistaken for the Earl, remained a prisoner. Agnes, 
who from a high tower was observing the event, cried out to 
the Earl, jeeringly, “ Farewell, Montague ; I intended that 
you should have supped with us, and assisted in defending 
the fortress against the English.” It is said the Earl would 
have been taken, had he not been pulled back by his fol¬ 
lowers. 

The English, thus unsuccessful in their attempts, turned 
the siege into a blockade, closely environed the castle by sea 
and land, and tried to starve Agnes and her garrison into 
submission. Alexander Ramsay hearing of this, and of the 
extremities to which the garrison were reduced, embarked 
with forty resolute men, who eluded the vigilance of the 
English, and taking advantage of a dark night, entered the 
castle by a postern gate next the sea. He then sallied out 
of the castle on the land side, attacked and dispersed the ad¬ 
vanced guard of the besiegers. The Earl of Salisbury, dis¬ 
heartened by so many unfortunate events, and by the deter¬ 
mined resistance he had met with, at length withdrew his 
forces, after having remained before Dunbar, for nineteen 
weeks. 

In 1505, after the murder of Rizzio, Queen Mary retired 
to this castle, where she was joined by a number of her 
friends; and, in 1507, she and Bothwell having fled from 
Edinburgh, were pursued with such vigour by a party of 


SELKIRKSHIRE. 


33 


horse, commanded by Lord Hume, that they had barely time 
to take shelter within its walls ; from which, however, they 
soon after marched with an army of Bothwell’s friends and 
dependants to Carberry Hill, but were there defeated, and 
the Queen forced to surrender herself prisoner. The castle 
was besieged that same year by the Regent Murray, who 
took it, and caused all the great guns to be dismounted and 
carried to the Castle of Edinburgh. 

EMINENT MEN IN EAST LOTHIAN. 

Although of small extent, this county is remarkable for 
the number of distinguished persons who have been born in 
it. The family of Cockburn of Ormiston, long possessed 
considerable eminence. Cockburn, Lord Justice Clerk, was 
eminent as a lawyer and a judge; and his son John was no 
less so as a statesman. Dunbar, one of the most distinguish¬ 
ed of the early Scottish poets, was born at Salton, in 1465* 
In his youth he was a monk, but he soon resigned his pro¬ 
fession, for that of poet. The historian Burnet, Avas rector 
of the same parish for five years, and here began his career ; 
and it was the birth-place of Andrew Fletcher of Salton, the 
celebrated Scottish patriot, who flourished in the reigns of 
Charles II., James II., William III., and Queen Anne. 

The parish of Haddington was also the birth place of John 
Knox, the great apostle of the Scottish Reformation, of whom 
it was justly said, by one whom he had often opposed and 
censured, the Regent, Earl of Morton, who was present at 
his funeral, “ Here lies he, who never feared the face of 
man.” 


SELKIRKSHIRE. 

This county is often called the Forrest, a name descrip¬ 
tive of its ancient condition, but which is at present very 
inapplicable. The greater part of it consists of straths, on the 

b 2 


34 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


banks of the rivers Ettrick and Yarrow, which begin at the 
summit of that lofty ridge of mountains that penetrate from 
Northumberland into Clydesdale. The Tweed crosses its 
northern parts. Its greatest length from east to west is 
eighteen miles, and but a small part is under cultivation. 
The sheep which feed upon its high grounds, are the chief 
source of wealth to the county. 

ABBOTSFORD. 

One of the most interesting objects in this small county, 
is Abbotsford, the seat of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. It stands 
on a slip of level ground, at the foot of an overhanging bank 
on the south, or more properly speaking, the east bank of the 
Tweed, and is distant thirty-four miles from Edinburgh, se¬ 
venty miles from Carlisle, and about two miles from the vil¬ 
lage of Galashiels, on the cross road betwixt Selkirk and 
Melrose. The house itself, as will be seen from the engrav¬ 
ing, (see Plate,) is a strange fantastic structure, setting at 
defiance all those principles of uniformity, to which modern 
architects attach so much importance. It may be described 
as consisting of a large tower, with several smaller ones clus¬ 
tering around it, all built of fine grey granite. The roofs 
are diversified by all manner of antique chimney tops, battle¬ 
ments, and turrets; the windows are scattered over the build¬ 
ing with appropriate irregularity, both of dimension and po¬ 
sition ; and in many places the spaces between or above them 
not unfrequently occupied with saintly niches and chivalrous 
coats of arms. Altogether it bears a close resemblance to 
some of the old English manor houses of Queen Elizabeth’s 
reign, in which the forms of the religious and warlike archi¬ 
tecture of the middle ages are not ungracefully blended to¬ 
gether. 

Internally, the house is as singular in its appearance, as it 
is externally- The roofs of some of the rooms are loaded 
with fac-similes of the best decorations of Melrose Abbey» 


ABBOTSFORD. 


35 


the windows glow with the rich achievements of all the old 
families of border renown ; and the walls are covered with 
hauberks, actons, bills, brands, claymores, targets, and every 
weapon of foray warfare. Sir Walter has clothed the banks 
of the Tweed, in every direction, around his mansion, with 
young woods; and nothing can be more soft and beautiful 
than the surrounding scenery. Scarcely a single house is to 
be seen, and, excepting on the rich low lands close by the 
river, the country seems to be entirely in the hands of the 
shepherd. It is hardly possible to imagine a more lovely 
river, than the far-famed and classic Tweed, which flows 
past the house. It is as clear as the smallest brook, and the 
white pebbles may be counted on its bottom; yet it is broad 
and deep, and above all extremely rapid. It rises sometimes 
considerably above its usual height, but at all times it seems 
to fill its bed magnificently. 

This remarkable mansion is, however, chiefly interest¬ 
ing from association with its highly gifted proprietor ; 
and unquestionably it will ever be memorable as the re¬ 
sidence of one of the most eminent men of his time. 
Abbotsford will continue to be for ages the spot to which 
pilgrims from all parts of the civilized earth will bend their 
steps; and when tower and stone are mingled with the 
dust, this place will be looked on with almost sacred ad¬ 
miration, by all who can form a just estimate of high 
genius and moral worth. In a work like the present, 
which mingles biographical notices with the description 
of local scenery, it will of course be expected that a pretty 
copious account should be given of this eminent and ami¬ 
able man. We shall, therefore, proceed to give from his 
own admired pages, the following abridged memoir of his 
literary life. For anecdotes of his earlier years, the rea¬ 
der is referred to the new edition of the Waverley Novels, 
in the prefaces to some of the earlier volumes, of which 
Sir Walter has communicated as much of his own personal 
history as almost constitutes a regular auto-biography. 


36 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 

During the thirty years that I have paid some atten¬ 
tion to literary matters, the taste for the ancient ballad 
melody, and for the closer or more distant imitation of 
that strain of poetry, has more than once arisen, and more 
than once subsided, in consequence, perhaps, of too un¬ 
limited indulgence. 

A period when this particular taste for the popular bal¬ 
lad was in the most extravagant degree of fashion, became 
the occasion, unexpectedly indeed, of my deserting the 
profession to which I was educated, and in which I had 
sufficiently advantageous prospects for a person of limited 
ambition. I have, in a former publication, undertaken to 
mention this circumstance; and I will endeavour to do so 
with becoming brevity, and without more egotism than is 
positively exacted by the nature of the story. 

I may, in the 6rst place, remark, that although the as¬ 
sertion has been made, and that by persons who seemed 
satisfied with their authority, it is a mistake to suppose 
that my situation in life or place in society were materi¬ 
ally altered by such success as J attained in literary at¬ 
tempts. My birth, without giving the least pretension to 
distinction, was that of a gentleman, and connected me 
with several respectable families and accomplished per¬ 
sons. My education had been a good one, although I 
was deprived of its full benefit by indifferent health, just 
at the period when I ought to have been most sedulous 
in improving it. The young men with whom I was 
brought up, and lived most familiarly, were those who 
from opportunities, birth, and talents, might be expected 
to make the greatest advances in the profession to which 
we were all destined; and I have the pleasure still to pre¬ 
serve my youthful intimacy with no inconsiderable num¬ 
ber of them, whom their merit has carried forward to the 
highest honours of their profession. Neither was I in a 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


37 


situation to be embarrassed by the res angusta doini, which 
might have otherwise interrupted my progress in a pro¬ 
fession in which progress is proverbially slow. I enjoyed 
a moderate degree of business for my standing, and the 
friendship of more than one person of consideration effi¬ 
ciently disposed to aid my views in life. The private for¬ 
tune also, which 1 might expect, and finally inherited 
from my family, did not, indeed, amount to affluence, 
but it placed me considerably beyond all apprehensions 
of want. 

I proceed to detail the circumstances which engaged 
me in literary pursuits. 

Here Sir Walter recurs to the period when the litera¬ 
ture of Germany became fashionable in this country, and 
mentions, that about 1790 he himself began to learn Ger¬ 
man, along with several others, not merely in compliance 
with the taste of the time, but to turn their knowledge 
of that language to the purposes of translation. Soon 
after this he became acquainted with Lewis, the author 
of the Monk, who was also an amateur of German litera¬ 
ture, and of him and his works he gives a number of in¬ 
teresting particulars. 

It chanced, says Sir Walter, that, while his fame was 
at the highest, Mr Lewis became a yearly visitor to Scot¬ 
land chiefly from attachment to the illustrious family of 
Argyle. The writer of this had the.advantage of being 
made known to the most distinguished author of the day, 
by a lady who belongs by birth to that family, and is 
equally distinguished by her beauty and accomplishments. 
Out of this accidental acquaintance, which increased into 
a sort of intimacy, consequences arose which altered al¬ 
most all the Scottish ballad-maker’s future prospects in 
life. 

In early youth I had been an eager student of Ballad 
Poetry, and the tree is still in my recollection, beneath 
which I lay and first entered upon the enchanting perusal 


38 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


of Percy’s ff Reliques of Ancient Poetry/’ although it has 
long perished in the general blight which affected the 
whole race of Oriental platanus to which it belonged. 
The taste of another person had strongly encouraged my 
own researches into this species of legendary lore. But I 
had never dreamed of an attempt to imitate what gave me 
so much pleasure. 

Excepting the usual tribute to a mistress’s eye-brow, 
which is the language rather of passion than poetry, I 
had not for ten years indulged the wish to couple so much 
as love and dove , when, finding Lewis in possession of so 
much reputation, and conceiving that, if I fell behind 
him in poetical powers, I considerably exceeded him in 
general information, I suddenly took it into my head to 
attempt the style by which he had raised himself to fame. 

This idea was hurried into execution, in consequence 
of a temptation which others, as well as the author, found 
it difficult to resist. The celebrated ballad of “ Lenore,” 
by Burger, was about this time introduced into England; 
and it is remarkable, that, written as far back as 1775, it 
was upwards of twenty years before it was known in 
Britain, though calculated to make so strong an impres¬ 
sion. 

About the summer of 1793 or 1794, the celebrated Miss 
Lsetitia Aikin, better known as Mrs Barbauld, paid a vi¬ 
sit to Edinburgh, and was received by such literary so¬ 
ciety as the place then boasted, with the hospitality to 
which her talents and her worth entitled her. Among 
others, she was kindly welcomed by the late excellent 
and admired Professor Dugald Stewart, his lady and fa¬ 
mily. It was in their evening society that Miss Aikin 
drew from her pocket book a version of “ Lenore,” exe¬ 
cuted by William Taylor, Esq. of Norwich, with as much 
freedom as was consistent with great spirit and scrupu¬ 
lous fidelity. She read this composition to the company, 
who were electrified by the tale. It was the more sue- 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


39 


cessful, that Mr Taylor had boldly copied the imitative 
harmony of the German, and described the spectral jour- 
ney in language resembling that of the original. 

When Miss Aikin had finished her recitation, she re¬ 
placed in her pocket book the paper from which she had 
read it, and enjoyed the satisfaction of having made a 
strong impression on the hearers, whose bosoms thrilled 
yet the deeper, as the ballad was not to be more closely 
introduced to them. 

The enthusiastic description given of Burger’s ballad, 
and the broken account of the story, of which only two 
lines were recollected, inspired the author, who had some 
acquaintance, as has been said, with the German langu¬ 
age, and a strong taste for popular poetry, with a desire 
to see the original. 

The perusal of the original rather exceeded than dis¬ 
appointed the expectations which the report of Mr Stew¬ 
art’s family had induced me to form. At length, when 
the book had been a few hours in my possession, I found 
myself giving an animated account of the poem, to a friend, 
and rashly added a promise to furnish a copy in English 
blank verse. 

I well recollect that I began my task after supper, and 
finished it about daybreak next morning, by which time 
the ideas which the task had a tendency to summon up 
were rather of an uncomfortable character. As my ob¬ 
ject was much more to make a good translation of the 
poem for those whom I wished to please, than to acquire 
any poetical fame for myself, I retained the two lines 
which Mr Taylor had rendered with equal boldness and 
felicity. 

My attempt succeeded far beyond my expectations; 
and it may readily be believed, that I was induced to 
persevere in a pursuit which gratified my own vanity, 
while it seemed to amuse others. I accomplished a trans¬ 
lation of “ Der Wilde Jager”—a romantic superstition 


40 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


universally current in Germany, and known also in Scot¬ 
land and France. In this I took rather more license than in 
versifying “ Lenoreand I balladized one or two other 
poems of Burger with more or less success. In the course 
of a few weeks, my own vanity, and the favourable opin¬ 
ion of friends, interested by the revival of a species of 
poetry containing a germ of popularity of which perhaps 
they were not themselves aware, urged me to the deci¬ 
sive step of sending a selection, at least, of my translations 
to the press, to save the numerous applications which 
were made for copies. When was an author deaf to such 
a recommendation ! In 1796, the present author was pre¬ 
vailed on, “ by request of friends,” to indulge his own 
vanity by publishing the translation of “ Lenore,” with 
that of “ The Wild Huntsman,” in a thin quarto. 

The fate of this, my first publication, was by no means 
flattering. I distributed so many copies among my friends 
as materially to interfere with the sale; and the number 
of translations which appeared in England about the same 
time, including that of Mr Taylor, to which I had been 
so much indebted, and which was published in “ The 
Monthly Magazine,” was sufficient to exclude a provin¬ 
cial writer from competition. 

In a word, my adventure, where so many pushed off to 
sea, proved a dead loss, and a great part of the edition 
was condemned to the service of the trunkmaker. Nay, 
so complete was the failure of the unfortunate ballads, that 
the very existence of them was soon forgotten ; and, in a 
newspaper in which I lately read, to my no small horror, 
a most appalling list of my own various publications, I saw 
this, my first offence, had escaped the industrious collec¬ 
tor, for whose indefatigable research I may fairly wish a 
better object. 

The failure of my first publication did not operate, in 
any unpleasant degree, either on my feelings or spirits. 
To speak candidly, I found pleasure in the literary labour 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


41 


in which I had, almost by accident, become engaged, and 
laboured, less in the hope of pleasing others, though cer¬ 
tainly without despair of doing so, than in the pursuit of 
a new and agreeable amusement to myself. I pursued 
the German language keenly, and, though far from being 
a correct scholar, became a bold and daring reader, nay, 
even translator, of various dramatic pieces from that 
tongue. 

Although the dramas of Goethe, Schiller, and others, 
principally attracted one whose early attention to the Ger¬ 
man had been arrested by Mackenzie’s Dissertation, and 
the play of “ The Robbers,” yet the ballad poetry, in 
which I had made a bold essay, was still my favourite. 
I was yet more delighted on finding, that the old English, 
and especially the Scottish language, were so nearly simi¬ 
lar to the German, not in sound merely, but in the turn 
of phrase, that they were capable of being rendered line 
for line, with very little variation. 

By degrees, I acquired sufficient confidence to attempt 
the imitation of what I admired. The ballad called “ Glen- 
finlas” was, I think, the first original poem which I ven¬ 
tured to compose. As it is supposed to be a translation 
from the Gaelic, I considered myself as liberated from 
imitating the antiquated language and rude rhythym of 
the Minstrel ballad. 

After “ Glenfinlas,” I undertook another ballad, called 
the “ Eve of St John.” The incidents, except the hints 
alluded to in the notes, are entirely imaginary, but the 
scene was that of my early childhood. Some idle persons 
had of late years, during the proprietor’s absence, torn the 
iron grated door of Smallholm Tower from its hinges, and 
thrown down the rock. I was an earnest suitor to my friend 
and kinsman already mentioned, that the dilapidation 
should be put a stop to, and the mischief repaired. This 
was readily promised, on condition that I should make a 
ballad, of which the scene should lie at Smallholm Tower, 


42 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


and among the crags where it is situated. The ballad 
was approved of, as well as its companion “ Glenfinlas 
and I remember that they procured me many marks of 
attention and kindness from John Duke of Roxburghe, 
who gave me the unlimited use of the celebrated collec¬ 
tion of volumes from which the Roxburghe Club derives 
its name. 

Thus, I was set up for a poet, like a pedlar who has 
got two ballads to begin the world upon, and I hastened 
to make the round of all my acquaintances, showing my 
precious wares, and requesting criticism—a boon which no 
author asks in vain. I was ignorant, at the time I speak of, 
that though the applause of the many may justly appre¬ 
ciate the general merits of a piece, it is not safe to submit 
such a performance to the more minute criticism of the 
same individuals, when each, in turn, having seated him¬ 
self in the censor’s chair, has placed his mind in a cri¬ 
tical attitude, and delivered his opinion sententiously 
and ex cathedra. General applause was in almost every 
case freely tendered, but the abatements in the way of 
proposed alterations and corrections were cruelly puzzling. 
It was in vain the young author, listening with becoming 
modesty, and with a natural wish to please, cut and carved, 

tinkered and coopered, upon his unfortunate ballads_it 

was in vain that he placed, displaced, replaced, and mis¬ 
placed ; every one of his advisers was displeased with the 
concessions made to his co-assessors, and the author was 
blamed by some one, in almost every case, for having 
made two holes in attempting to patch up one. 

At last, after thinking seriously on the subject, I wrote 
out a fair copy, (of Glenfinlas, I think,) and marked all the 
various corrections which had been proposed. I found 
that I had been required to alter every verse, almost every 
line, and the only stanzas of the whole ballad which es¬ 
caped criticism, were such as neither could be termed good 
nor bad, speaking of them as poetry, but were of a mere 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


43 


common-place character, absolutely necessary for conduct¬ 
ing the business of the tale. This unexpected result, after 
about a fortnight s anxiety, led me to adopt a rule from 
which I have seldom departed during more than thirty 
years of literary life. When a friend, whose judgment I 
respect, has decided, and upon good advisement told me, 
that the manuscript was worth nothing, or at least possess¬ 
ed no redeeming qualities sufficient to atone for its de¬ 
fects, I have generally cast it aside ; but I am little in the 
custom of paying attention to minute criticisms, or of 
offering such to any friend who may do me the honour to 
consult me. I am convinced that, in general, in removing 
even errors of a trivial or venial kind, the character o^ 
originality is lost, which, upon the whole, may be that 
which is most valuable in the production. 

About the time when I shook hands with criticism, and 
rendered my ballads back to their original form, an op¬ 
portunity soon occurred of introducing to the world what 
had hitherto been confined to a circle of friends. Lewds 
had announced a collection, first intended to bear the title 
of “ Tales of Terror,” but afterwards “ Tales of Wonder,” 
which last was finally adopted. As this was to be a col¬ 
lection of tales turning on the preternatural, there were 
risks in the plan of which the ingenious editor was not 
aware. The supernatural, though appealing to certain 
powerful emotions very widely sown amongst the human 
race, is, nevertheless, a spring which is peculiarly apt to 
lose its elasticity, by being too much pressed on, and a col¬ 
lection of ghost stories is not more likely to be terrible, 
than a collection of jests to be merry and entertaining. 
But although the proposed work carried in it an obstruc¬ 
tion to its success, this was far from being suspected at 
the time, for the popularity of the editor, and of his com¬ 
positions, seemed a warrant for his success. The distin¬ 
guished favour with which the “ Castle Spectre” was re- 
cei /ed upon the stage, seemed an additional warrant for 


44 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


the safety of his new attempt. I readily agreed to con¬ 
tribute the ballads of “ Glenfinlas” and of “ The Eve of 
St John,” with one or two others of less merit; and my 
friend, Dr Leyden, became also a contributor. Mr Sou¬ 
they, a tower of strength, added <f The Old Woman of 
Berkeley,” “ Lord William,” and several other interesting 
ballads of the same class, to the proposed collection. 

Sir Walter then relates the circumstances which occa¬ 
sioned the “ Tales of Terror” to turn out a most unfortu¬ 
nate speculation for the author, and by reflection, on those 
who were his co-adjutors. Thus, owing to the failure of 
the vehicle I had chosen, continues he, my efforts to pre¬ 
sent myself before the public as an original writer proved 
as vain as those by which I had previously endeavoured 
to distinguish myself as a translator. Like Lord Home, 
however, at the battle of Flodden, I did so far well, that 
I was able to stand and defend myself, and amidst the 
general depreciation of the “ Tales of Wonder,” my small 
share of the obnoxious publication was dismissed without 
much censure, and in some cases obtained praise from the 
critics. The consequence of my escape made me natu¬ 
rally more daring, and I attempted, in my own name, a 
collection of ballads of various kinds, both ancient and 
modern, to be connected by the common tie of relation to 
the Border districts in which I had collected them. The 
original preface explains my purpose, and the assistance 
of various kinds I met with. This was the “ Minstrelsy 
of the Scottish Border.” 

The success of this last work, besides stamping his 
name with distinction as an author, seems also to have 
operated as a strong inducement with him, thenceforward* 
to devote himself almost entirely to literary pursuits. Ac¬ 
cordingly, we find that he began, very soon after, to me¬ 
ditate the production of a far higher effort than any that 
had yet been attempted by his muse. This was the “ Lay 
of the Last Minstrel,” the popularity of which at once 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


45 


established his fame as a poet of the first rank, and, at the 
same time, prompted the rapid production of those other 
compositions of a similar kind, which not only extended 
the reputation he had acquired, but constituted him, as it 
were, the delight as well as ornament of his country. On 
the origin and progress of those beautiful poems, Sir WaL 
ter himself has dwelt at considerable length. Our limits, 
unfortunately, do not permit us to indulge the reader with 
all the details, but he may rest satisfied, that in the fol¬ 
lowing abridged account, nothing has been omitted that 
could be thought at all indispensable to the interest of a 
narrative so essential to the completion of the author’s 
literary memoirs. 

Lay of the Last Minstrel .—After stating the reasons, 
pro and con, which induced him finally to adopt the octo¬ 
syllabic in preference to the heroic couplet. Sir Walter 
continues thus:—“ I was not less at a loss for a subject 
which might admit of being treated with the simplicity 
and wildness of the ancient poem, but accident dictated 
both a theme and a measure, which decided the subject, 
as well as the structure of the poem. 

The lovely young Countess of Dalkeith, afterwards 
Harriet Duchess of Buccleuch, had come to the land of 
her husband with the desire of making herself acquainted 
with its traditions and customs. All who remember this 
lady, will agree that the intellectual character of her ex¬ 
treme beauty, the amenity and courtesy of her manners, 
the soundness of her understanding, and her unbounded 
benevolence, gave more the idea of an angelic visitant, 
than of a being belonging to this nether world; and such 
a thought was but too consistent with the short time she 
was permitted to tarry amongst us. Of course, where all 
made it a pride and pleasure to gratify her wishes, she 
soon heard enough of border lore; among others, an aged 
gentleman of property, near Langholm, (Mr Beattie of 
Meikledale,) communicated to her ladyship the story of 


46 


SCENES itf SCOTLAND. 


Gilpin Horner, a tradition in which the narrator, and 
many more of that country, were firm believers. The 
young Countess, much delighted with the legend, and the 
gravity and full confidence with which it was told, enjoin¬ 
ed it on me, as a task, to compose a ballad on the subject 
Of course to hear was to obey ; and thus the goblin story, 
objected to by several critics as an excrescence upon the 
poem, was, in fact, the occasion of its being written. 

A chance similar to that which dictated the subject? 
gave me also the hint of a new mode of treating it. We 
had at that time the lease of a pleasant cottage near Lass- 
wade, on the romantic banks of the Esk, to which we es¬ 
caped when the vacations of the Court permitted so much 
leisure. Here I had the pleasure to receive a visit from 
Mr Stoddart, (now Sir John Stoddart, Judge-Advocate at 
Malta,*) who was at that time collecting the particulars 
which he afterwards embodied in his “ Remarks on Local 
Scenery in Scotland.” I was of some use to him in pro¬ 
curing the information he desired, and guiding him to the 
scenes he wished to see. In return, he made me better 
acquainted than I had hitherto been with the poetic effu¬ 
sions which have since made the lakes of Westmoreland, 
and the authors by whom they have been sung, so famous 
wherever the English language is spoken. 

I was already acquainted with the “ Joan of Arc,” the 
(i Thalaba,” and the “ Metrical Ballads” of Mr Southey, 
which had found their way into Scotland, and were generally 
admired. But Mr Stoddart, who had the advantage of per¬ 
sonal friendship with the authors, and who possessed a strong 
memory with an excellent taste, was able to repeat to me 


* This gentleman conducted the Times newspaper for several years, 
during the war with France, while under the sway of Napoleon, and 
contributed, in no small degree, to keep up the national hostility by the 
violence of his editorial Phillipics against the French Emperor. His 
preferment is the only instance, we believe, of high Government patron¬ 
age having been conferred for services by means of the newspaper press. 



SIR WALTER SCOTT*. 


47 


many long specimens of their poetry, which had not yet ap¬ 
peared in print. Amongst others, was the striking frag¬ 
ment called “ Cristabel,” by Mr Coleridge, which, from the 
singularly irregular structure of the stanza, and the liberty 
which it allowed the author to adapt the sound to the sense, 
seemed to be exactly suited to such an extavaganza as I 
meditated on the subject of Gilpin Horner. As applied to 
coarse and humorous poetry, this mescolanza of measures 
had been already used by Anthony Hall, Anstey, Dr Wol¬ 
cott and others ; but it was in “ Cristabel” that I first found 
it used in serious poetry, and it is to Mr Coleridge that I 
am bound to make the acknowledgement due from the pu¬ 
pil to his master. 

I did not immediately proceed upon my projected labour, 
though I was now furnished with a subject and with a struc¬ 
ture of verse which might have the effect of novelty to the 
public ear, and afford the author an opportunity of varying 
his measure with the variation of a romantic subject. On 
the contrary, it was, to the best of my recollection, more 
than a year after Mr Stoddart’s visit, that, by way of expe¬ 
riment, I composed the first two or three stanzas of “ The 
Lay of the Last Minstrel.” 

Sir Walter here goes on to recite how this finest effort of 
liis muse had nearly been crushed in embryo, by the cold 
or rather silent criticism of two friends, to whom he was in 
the habit of submitting his compositions, for approval or 
condemnation, and on whose judgment he thought he could 
at all times rely. On hearing some of the original stanzas 
read, neither of them said much to him on the subject; and 
he too rashly concluded that their disgust had been greater 
than their good nature chose to express. Without more ado, 
therefore, he threw the manuscript into the fire. Fortunate¬ 
ly, an accidental conversation soon after undeceived him as 
to their real sentiments. It was not to the poetry but to 
the structure of the Poem that their opinions were opposed. 
This being explained, Sir Walter immediately resumed his 


48 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


labours, and acting upon some judicious hints from these 
gentlemen, he continued unremittingly to spur his muse, 
until he finally finished the Poem as it now stands in his 
works. It was subsequently shewn, he says, “ to other 
friends, and received the imprimatur of Mr Francis Jeffrey, 
who had been for some time distinguished by his critical ta¬ 
lent.” 

“ It would be great affectation,” continues Sir Walter, 
f< not to own frankly, that the author expected some suc¬ 
cess from ‘ The Lay of the Last Minstrel.’ The attempt to 
return to a more simple and natural style of poetry, was 
likely to be welcomed, at a time when the public had be¬ 
come tired of hexameters, with all the buckram and bind¬ 
ing which belong to them of later days. But whatever 
might have been my expectations, whether moderate or un¬ 
reasonable, the result left them far behind, for among those 
who smiled on the adventurous attempt, were numbered 
the great names of William Pitt and Charles Fox. Neither 
was the extent of the sale inferior to the character of the 
judges who received the Poem with approbation. Upwards 
of thirty thousand copies of the f Lay’ were disposed of by 
the trade ; and the author had to perform a task difficult to 
human vanity, when called upon to make the necessary de¬ 
ductions from his own merits, in a calm attempt to account 
for his popularity.” 

Marmion .—I had formed the prudent resolution to en¬ 
deavour to bestow a little more labour than I had yet 
done on my productions, and to be in no hurry again to 
announce myself as a candidate for literary fame. Ac¬ 
cordingly, particular passages of a poem, which was finally 
called “ Marmion,” were laboured with a good deal of care. 
The period of its composition was also a very happy 
one in my life; so much so, that I remember with plea¬ 
sure, at this moment, some of the spots in which particu¬ 
lar passages w r ere composed. It is probably owing to this 
that some of the Introductions to the several Cantos as- 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


49 


sumed the form of familiar epistles to my intimate friends, 
in which I alluded, perhaps more than was necessary or 
graceful, to my domestic occupations and amusements—a 
loquacity which may be excused by those who remem¬ 
ber, that “ out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
speaketh.” 

The misfortunes of a near relation and friend, which 
happened at this time, led me to alter my prudent deter¬ 
mination, and made it convenient at least, if not absolute¬ 
ly necessary, to hasten its publication. The publishers 
of “ The Lay of the Last Minstrel,” emboldened by the 
success of that Poem, willingly offered a thousand pounds 
for “ Marmion.” The transaction being no secret, af¬ 
forded Lord Byron, who was then at general war with 
all who blacked paper, an opportunity to include me in 
his satire, entitled “ English Bards and Scotch Review¬ 
ers.” I never could conceive how an arrangement be¬ 
tween an author and his publishers, if satisfactory to the 
persons concerned, could afford matter of censure to any 
third party. I had taken no unusual or ungenerous means 
of enhancing the value of my merchandize—I had never 
higgled a moment about the bargain, but accepted at 
once what I considered the handsome offer of my pub¬ 
lishers. These gentlemen, at least, were not of opinion 
that they had been taken advantage of in the transaction, 
which indeed was one of their own framing! On the con¬ 
trary, the sale of the Poem went so far beyond their ex¬ 
pectation, as to induce them in addition, to supply the au¬ 
thor’s cellars with what is always an acceptable present to 
a young Scottish housekeeper, namely, a hogshead of ex¬ 
cellent claret. 

The poem was finished in too much haste to allow me 
an opportunity of softening down, if not removing some 
of its most prominent defects. By good fortune the no¬ 
velty of the subject, and, if I may say so, some force and 
vivacity of description, were allowed to atone for many 

c 


50 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


imperfections. Thus the second experiment on the public 
patience, generally the most perilous,—for the public are 
then most apt to judge with rigour, what in the first in¬ 
stance they had received, perhaps with imprudent gene¬ 
rosity,—was in my case decidedly successful. I had the 
good fortune to pass the ordeal favourably, and the return 
of sales before me makes the copies amount to thirty-six 
thousand printed between 1805 and 1825, besides a con¬ 
siderable sale since that period. 

After the success of “ Marmion,” I felt inclined to ex¬ 
claim with Ulysses in the “ Odyssey”— 

“ One venturous game my hand has won to day— 

Another, gallants, yet remains to play.” 

The Lady of ilie Lake .—The ancient manners, the ha¬ 
bits and customs of the aboriginal race by whom the High¬ 
lands of Scotland were inhabited, had always appeared to 
me peculiarly adapted for poetry. The feuds, and poli¬ 
tical dissensions, which, half a century earlier, would have 
rendered the richer and wealthier part of the kingdom in¬ 
disposed to countenance a poem, the scene of which was 
laid in the Highlands, were now sunk in the generous 
compassion which the English, more than any other na¬ 
tion, feel for the misfortunes of an honourable foe. The 
Poems of Ossian had, by their popularity, sufficiently 
shewn, that if writings on Highland subjects were quali¬ 
fied to interest the reader, mere national prejudices were, 
in the present day, very unlikely to interfere with their 
success. 

I had also read a great deal, and heard more, concern¬ 
ing that romantic country, where I was in the habit of 
spending some time every autumn; and the scenery of 
Loch Katerine was connected with the recollection of 
many a dear friend and merry expedition of former days. 
This Poem, the action of which lay among scenes so beau¬ 
tiful, and so deeply imprinted on my recollection, was a 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


51 


labour of love, and it was no less so to recall the manners 
and incidents introduced. The frequent custom of James 
IV., and particularly of James V., to walk through the 
kingdom in disguise, afforded me the hint of an incident, 
which never fails to be interesting if managed with the 
slightest address or dexterity. 

I may now confess, however, that the employment, 
though attended with great pleasure, was not without its 
doubts and anxieties. A lady, to whom I was nearly re¬ 
lated, and with whom I lived during her whole life on the 
most brotherly terms of affection, was residing with me at 
the time when the work was in progress, and used to ask 
me, what I could possibly do to rise so early in the morn¬ 
ing (that happening to be the most convenient time to me 
for composition.) At last I told her the subject of my 
meditations ; but I can never forget the anxiety and af¬ 
fection expressed in her reply. “ Do not be so rash,” she 
said, “ my dearest cousin. You are already popular: 
more so, perhaps, than you yourself will believe, or than 
even I, or other partial friends, can fairly allow you to 
merit. You stand high, do not rashly attempt to climb 
higher, and incur the risk of a fall; for, depend upon it 
a favourite will not be permitted even to stumble with 
impunity.” I replyed to this affectionate expostulation in 
the words of Montrose— 

“ He either fears his fate too much, 

Or his deserts are small, 

Who dares not put it to the touch 
To gain or lose it all.” 

“ If I fail,” I said, for the dialogue is strong in my re¬ 
collection, “ it is a sign that I ought never to have suc¬ 
ceeded, and I will write prose for life: you shall see no 
change in my temper, nor will I eat a single meal the 
wo 1- le. But if I succeed, 

<k Up with the bonnie blue bonnet, 

The dirk, and the feather and a’.” 


52 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND- 


Afterwards I showed my affectionate and anxious cri¬ 
tic the first canto of the poem, which reconciled her to 
my imprudence. Nevertheless, although I answered thus 
confidently, with the obstinacy often said to be proper to 
those who bear my surname, I acknowledge that my con¬ 
fidence was considerably shaken by the warning of her 
excellent taste and unbiassed friendship. 

I remember that about the same time a friend started in 
to “ heeze up my hope,” like the minstrel in the old song. 
He was bred a farmer, but a man of powerful understand¬ 
ing, natural good taste, and warm poetical feeling, per¬ 
fectly competent to supply the wants of an imperfect or 
irregular education. He was a passionate admirer of field 
sports, which we often pursued together. 

As this friend happened to dine with me at Ashiesteel 
one day, I took the opportunity of reading to him the 
first canto of “ The Lady of the Lake,” in order to as¬ 
certain the effect the poem was likely to produce upon a 
person who was but too favourable a representation of 
readers at large. It is of course to be supposed, that I 
determined rather to guide my opinion by what my friend 
might appear to feel, than by what he might think fit to 
sajr. His reception of my recitation, or prelection, -was 
rather singular. He placed his hand across his brow, and 
listened with great attention through the whole account 
of the stag hunt, till the dogs threw themselves into the 
lake to follow their master, who embarks with Ellen Dou¬ 
glas. He then started up with a sudden exclamation, 
struck his hand on the table, and declared in a voice of 
censure calculated for the occasion, that the dogs must 
have been totally ruined by being permitted to take the 
water after such a severe chase. I own I was much en¬ 
couraged by the species of reverie which had possessed so 
zealous a follower of the sports of the ancient Nimrod, 
who had been completely surprised out of all doubts of 
the reality of the tale. Another of his remarks gave me 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


53 


less pleasure. He detected the identity of the King with 
the wandering knight, Fitz-James, when he winds his 
bugle to summon his attendants. 

This discovery, as Mr Pepys says of the rent in his 
camlet cloak, was but a trifle, yet it troubled me, and I 
was at a good deal of pains to efface any marks by which 
I thought my secret could be traced before the conclu¬ 
sion. 

I took uncommon pains likewise to verify the accuracy 
of the local circumstances of this story. I recollect in par¬ 
ticular, that to ascertain whether I was telling a probable 
tale, I went into Perthshire, to see whether King James 
could have actually ridden from the banks of Loch Ven- 
nacher to Stirling Castle within the time supposed in the 
Poem, and had the pleasure to satisfy myself that it was 
quite practicable. 

After a considerable delay, “ The Lady of the Lake,” 
appeared in June 1810, and its success was certainly so 
extraordinary as to induce me for a moment to conclude 
that I had at last fixed a nail in the proverbially incon¬ 
stant wheel of Fortune, whose stability in behalf of an in¬ 
dividual who had so boldly courted her favours for three 
successive times had not as yet been shaken. 

It only remains for me to say, that, during my short 
pre-eminence of popularity, I faithfully observed the rules 
of moderation which I had resolved to follow before I be¬ 
gan my course as a man of letters. If a man is deter¬ 
mined to make a noise in the world, he is sure to encoun¬ 
ter abuse and ridicule, as he wdio gallops furiously through 
a village must reckon on being followed by the curs in full 
cry. Experienced persons know, that in stretching to flog 
the latter, the rider is very apt to catch a bad fall, nor is 
an attempt to chastise a malignant critic attended with 
less danger to the author. On this principle, I let parody, 
burlesque, and squibs, find their own level. Let me add 
that my reign (since Byron has so called it) was marked 


54 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


by some instances of good-nature as well as patience. X 
never refused a literary person of merit such services in 
smoothing his way to the public as were in my power, and 
I had the advantage, rather an uncommon one with our 
irritable race, to enjoy general favour, without incurring 
permanent ill-will, so far as is known to me, among any 
of my contemporaries. 

Rofceby _In the meantime years crept on, and not 

without their usual depredations on the passing genera¬ 
tion. My sons had arrived at the age when the paternal 
house was no longer their best abode, as both were des¬ 
tined to active life. The field sports, to which I was pe¬ 
culiarly attached, had now less interest, and were replaced 
by other amusements of a more quiet character, and the 
means and opportunity of pursuing these were to be sought 
for. I had, indeed, for some years attended to farming, a 
knowledge of which is, or at least was then, indispensable 
to the comforts of a family residing in a solitary country 
house; but although this was the favourite amusement 
of many of my friends, I have never been able to con¬ 
sider it as a source of pleasure. I never could think it a 
matter of passing importance, that my cattle or crops were 
better or more plentiful than those of my neighbours* 
and nevertheless I began to feel the necessity of some 
more quiet out-door occupation than I had hitherto pur¬ 
sued. I purchased a small farm of about 100 acres, with 
the purpose of planting and improving it, to which pro¬ 
perty circumstances afterwards enabled me to make con¬ 
siderable additions. In point of neighbourhood, the change 
of residence made little difference. Abbotsford, to which 
we removed, was only six or seven miles down the Tweed, 
and lay on the same beautiful stream. It did not possess 
the romantic character of Ashiesteel, my former residence » 
but it had a stretch of meadow-land along the river, and 
possessed, in the phrase of the landscape gardener, con¬ 
siderable capabilities. Above all, the land was my own s 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


55 


like Uncle Toby’s Bowling-green, to do what I would 
with. It had been, though the gratification was long 
postponed, an early wish of mine to connect myself with 
my mother earth, and prosecute those experiments by 
which a species of creative power is exercised over the 
face of nature. I can trace, even to childhood, a pleasure 
derived from Dodsley’s account of Shenstone’s Leasowes, 
in the perusal of which I envied the poet much more for 
the pleasure of accomplishing the objects detailed in his 
friend’s sketch of his grounds, than for the possession of 
pipe, crook, flock, and Phillis to the boot of all. My me. 
mory, also, tenacious of quaint expressions, still retained 
a phrase which it had gathered from an old almanack of 
Charles the Second's time, (when every thing down to al¬ 
manacks affected to be smart) in which the reader, in the 
month of June, is advised, for health’s sake, to take a 
walk of a mile or two before breakfast, and, if he can pos_ 
sibly so manage, to let his exercise be taken on his own 
land. 

With the satisfaction of having attained the fulfilment 
of an early and long-cherished hope, I commenced my 
improvements, as delightful in their progress as those of 
the child who first makes a dress for anew doll. The na¬ 
kedness of the land was in time hidden by woodlands of 
considerable extent—the smallest of possible cottages was 
progressively expanded into a sort of dream of a mansion- 
house, whimsical in the exterior, but convenient within. 
Nor did I forget what is the natural pleasure of every man 
who has been a reader, I mean the filling the shelves of a 
tolerably large library. All these objects I kept in view, 
to be executed as convenience should serve; and although 
I knew many years must elapse before they could be at¬ 
tained, I was of a disposition to comfort myself with the 
Spanish proverb, “ Time and I against any two.” 

The difficult and indispensable point, of finding a per¬ 
manent subject of occupation, was now at length attained . 


56 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND, 


but there was annexed to it the necessity of becoming again 
a candidate for public favour, for, as I was turned im¬ 
prover on the earth of the every-day world, it was under 
condition that the small tenement of Parnassus, which 
might be accessible to my labours, should not remain un¬ 
cultivated. 

If subject and scenery could have influenced the fate of 
a poem, that of “ Rokeby” should have been eminently 
distinguished, for the grounds belonged to a dear friend? 
with whom I had lived in terms of intimacy for many 
years, and the place itself united the romantic beauties of 
the wilds of Scotland with the rich and smiling aspect of 
the southern portion of the island. But the Cavaliers 
and Roundheads, whom I attempted to summon up to 
tenant this beautiful region, had for the public neither the 
novelty nor the peculiar interest of the Scotch Highland . 
ers. This, perhaps, was scarcely to be expected, con¬ 
sidering that the general mind sympathises readily and 
at once with the stamp which nature herself has affixed 
upon the manners of a people living in a simple and pa¬ 
triarchal state, whereas it has more difficulty in under¬ 
standing or interesting itself in manners which are found¬ 
ed upon those peculiar habits of thinking or acting, which 
are produced by the progress of society. 

The cause of my failure had, however, a far deeper 
root. The manner or style, which, by its novelty, at¬ 
tracted the public in an unusual degree, had now, after 
having been three times before them, exhausted the pa¬ 
tience of the reader, and began in the fourth to lose 
its charms. The reviewers may be said to have thus 
apostrophized the author in the language of Parnell’s Ed¬ 
win :— 

“ And here reverse the charm, he cries, 

And let it fairly now suffice— 

The gambol has been shown.” 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


57 


Sir Walter, in the course of these, his literary memoirs, 
explains, at some length, the reasons which induced him 
finally to relinquish his profession, and to become, almost ex¬ 
clusively, a candidate for the honours of authorship. After 
stating that nothing less than an entire devotion to the study 
as well as the drudgery of the judicial profession, can en¬ 
sure success at the bar, he says, the reader will not wonder 
that my open interference with matters of light literature 
soon diminished my employment in the weightier matters 
of the law. Nor,” continues he, “ did the solicitors, upon 
whose choice the counsel takes rank in his profession, do 
me less than justice, by regarding others among my contem¬ 
poraries as fitter to discharge the duty due to their clients, 
than a young man who was taken up with running after 
ballads, whether Teutonic or national. My profession, and 
I, therefore, came to stand nearly upon the footing on which 
honest Slender consoled himself with having established with 
Mistress Anne Page: f There was no great love between us at 
the beginning, and it pleased Heaven to decrease it on farther 
acquaintance/ Of course I speedily became sensible that the 
time was come when I must either buckle myself to the f toil 
by day, the lamp by night, renouncing all the Delilahs of my 
imagination, or bid adieu to the profession of the law, and 
hold another course/ ” He then states several circumstances 
which contributed to bias his mind towards the latter alter¬ 
native, and concludes by remarking, that his income being 
then equal to all the comforts and some of the elegancies of 
life, he was not pressed to an irksome labour by necessity, 
that most powerful of motives; consequently he was the 
more easily induced to choose the employment which was 
most agreeable. “ This was yet the easier,” says he, “ that, 
in 1800, I had obtained the preferment of Sheriff of Sel¬ 
kirkshire, about £300 a-year in value, and which was the 
more agreeable to me, as in that county I had several friends 
and relations. But I did not abandon the profession in 
which I had been educated, without certain prudential re- 

c 2 


58 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


solutions, which, at the risque of some egotism, I will here 
mention; not without the hope that they may be useful to 
young persons, who may stand in circumstances similar to 
those in which I then stood. 

In the first place, upon considering the lives and fortunes 
of persons who had given themselves up to literature, or to 
the task of pleasing the public, it seemed to me that the 
circumstances which chiefly affected their happiness and 
character, were those from which Horace has bestowed 
upon authors the epithet of the Irritable Race. It requires 
no depth of philosophic reflection to perceive, that the petty 
warfare of Pope with the dunces of his period, could not 
have been carried on without his suffering the most acute 
torture, such as a man must endure from musquitoes, by 
whose stings he suffers agonies, although he can crush them 
in his grasp by myriads. Nor is it necessary to call to me¬ 
mory the many humiliating instances in which men of the 
greatest genius have, to avenge some pitiful quarrel, made 
themselves ridiculous during their lives, to become the still 
more degraded objects of pity to future times. 

Upon the whole, as I had no pretension to the genius of 
the distinguished persons who had fallen into such errors, I 
concluded there could be no occasion for imitating them in 
these mistakes, or what I considered as such ; and, in adopt¬ 
ing literary pursuits as the principal occupation of my future 
life, I resolved, if possible, to avoid those weaknesses of 
temper which seemed to have most easily beset my more 
celebrated predecessors. 

With this view, it was my first resolution to keep as far 
as was in my power abreast of society, continuing to main¬ 
tain my place in general company, without yielding to the 
very natural temptation of narrowing myself to what is called 
literary society. By doing so, I imagined I should escape 
the besetting sin of listening to language, which, from one 
motive or other, ascribes a very undue degree of consequence 
to literary pursuits, as if they were, indeed, the business, 


SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


59 


rather than the amusement, of life. The opposite course 
can only be compared to the injudicious conduct of one 
who pampers himself with cordial and luscious draughts, 
until he is unable to bear wholesome bitters. Like Gil 
Bias, therefore, I resolved to stick by the society of my 
commis , instead of seeking that of a more literary cast, and 
to maintain my general interest in what was going on 
around me, reserving the man of letters for the desk and 
the library. 

My second resolution was a corollary from the first. I 
determined that, without shutting my ears to the voice of 
true criticism, I would pay no regard to that which as¬ 
sumes the form of satire. I, therefore, resolved to arm myself 
with the triple brass of Horace, against all the roving warfare 
of satire, parody, and sarcasm; to laugh if the jest was a 
good one, or, if otherwise, to let it hum and buzz itself to 
sleep. 

It is to the observance of those rules (according to my 
best belief,) that, after a life of thirty years engaged in lite¬ 
rary labours of various kinds, I attribute my never having 
been entangled in any literary quarrel or controversy; and, 
which is a more pleasing result, that I have been distinguish¬ 
ed by the personal friendship of my most approved contem¬ 
poraries of all parties.” 

To this interesting narrative, so recently published, 
there is little to be added, except that the admired author 
continues to charm the world by the constant exercise of 
his pen, and the gratifying fact that increase of years be- 
getteth no decrease of his literary powers. In conclu¬ 
sion, however, it is impossible not to remark, that not¬ 
withstanding the lofty station he holds in the republic 
of letters, nothing can be more simple and unassuming 
than the manners of Sir Walter. There is probably no 
kina of rank, which it is so difficult for any one to bear 
with perfect ease, as the universally-honoured nobility of 
universally-honoured genius ; but that, and all its cha- 


60 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


racteristic attributes, with the homage that is constantly 
paid to them, sit as lightly upon this great man, as ever 
did plumed helm upon the head of one of his own grace¬ 
ful knights. 


ROXBURGHSHIRE. 

* 

This county is also called Teviotdale, from the water 
of Teviot, which runs along its whole course. It occu¬ 
pies the largest proportion of the southern border of Scot¬ 
land, and is situated in the centre of the territory between 
Solway Frith and Berwick upon Tweed. From the top 
of a hill called the Wisp, in the parish of Cavers, both the 
east and the west seas may be seen. The western part of 
the county is very mountainous ; and in the greatest part 
of its length its southern boundary is also mountainous, 
adjoining to the great ridge called the Cheviot hills, which 
in the upper or western part of Roxburghshire, stretch 
northward into Scotland. The appearance of the county 
is upon the w r hole very beautiful, containing a succession 
of hills and dales, through which a great number of small 
rivers take their course along deep and winding valleys. 
Almost all the hills are covered with a fine sward to their 
utmost altitude. 

MELROSE ABBEY. 

The most remarkable monument of antiquity to be 
found in this part of the country, and one of the most 
distinguished in Scotland, is the Abbey of Melrose. Va¬ 
rious religious foundations of different dates appear to 
have existed at this place. The monastery of old Mel¬ 
rose was probably founded about the end of the sixth cen¬ 
tury. 


MELROSE ABBEY. 


61 


The present Abbey of Melrose stands on the south side 
of the river Tweed. From the ruins which still exist, it 
appears to have been truly magnificent and spacious. It 
is the admiration even yet of every traveller. From the 
magnitude and embellishment of its columns, the symme¬ 
try of its various parts, and the beauty of the stone of 
which it is built, it may be regarded as one of the most 
superb structures reared by superstition in this country. 
It was founded by King David, in the year 1135; and 
was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The monks were Cis- 
tertian ; and the monastery was the mother-church or nur¬ 
sery for all the monks of that order in Scotland. 

The church of the Abbey is built in the form of St 
John’s Cross. The choir, which is a very stately fabric, is 
still standing. Its roof is very curious, and has much of 
the scripture history sculptured on it. The western part 
of the nave is so entirelv demolished, that it cannot be cor- 
rectly known what was its extent in that direction. The 
tower is seventy-five feet in height, but the spire which 
surmounted it, has long ago fallen down. The east win¬ 
dow, behind where the great altar stood, is very beauti¬ 
ful. It is one of five lights, separated by slender mullions, 
and ornamented at top by a great deal of delicate tracery. 
On each side there are niches for statues. Over the top 
there is an old man with a globe in the left hand, resting 
on his knee, and a young man on his right; both are in a 
sitting posture, with an open crown over their heads* 
There is a great deal of fine sculpture over the whole of 
the outside of the building. 

The inside is equal to the outside of the church. On 
the north side of the cross are several beautiful pillars, 
the sculpture on which, is as fresh as if newly cut. On 
the w r est side is a statue of St Peter, with an open book 
in his nand, and two keys hanging down; on the south 
is a statue of St Paul, with a sword in his hand. The 
following beautiful description of this Abbey by moon- 


62 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


light, by Sir Walter Scott, is familiar to almost every 
reader :—It is from the “ Lay of the Last Minstrel.” 

“ If thou would’st view fair Melrose aright, 

Go visit it by the pale moon-light; 

For the gay beams of lightsome day, 

Gild, but to flout, the ruins gray. 

When the broken arches are black in night, 

And each shafted oriel glimmers white; 

When the cold light’s uncertain shower 
Streams on the ruin’d central tower; 

When buttress and buttress, alternately, 

Seem framed of ebon and ivory ; 

When silver edges the imagery, 

And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die; 

When distant Tweed is heard to rave, 

And the howlet to hoot o’er the dead man’s grave, 

Then go—but go alone the while— 

Then view St David’s ruin’d pile ; 

And, home returning, soothly swear, 

Was never scene so sad and fair !” 

EMINENT MEN IN ROXBURGHSHIRE. 

George Augustus Elliot, afterwards Lord Heath- 
field, whose admirable defence of Gibraltar will ever be 
memorable, was born in the parish of Hobkirk. He was 
the ninth son of Gilbert Elliot of Stobs, Baronet. Three 
of our most admired poets are also natives of this county. 
James Thomson, the celebrated author of the seasons, was 
born in the parish of Ednam, in 1700. His father was 
minister of the parish. He was educated in the univer¬ 
sity of Edinburgh, with a view to the church; but his 
genius inclining to poetry, he relinquished his intentions 
as to that profession, and repaired to London. Dr John 
Armstrong, an eminent physician, poet, and miscellaneous 
writer, was born in the parish of Castletown, where his 
father and brother were ministers. His finest poem is the 
Art of Preserving Health. The ancient Scottish poet Ga¬ 
vin Douglas, afterwards Bishop of Dunkeld, was in early 


BERWICKSHIRE. 


63 


life rector of the parish of Hawick. He was third son of 
Archibald Earl of Angus, and was born in 1474. His 
most ingenious poem is the Palace of Honour; but his 
Translation into Scottish metre of thirteen books of Vir¬ 
gil’s .ZEneid is better known. 

BERWICKSHIRE. 

This county, or the Merse, as it is sometimes called, 
though not one of the largest, is in point of fertility one of 
the richest in Scotland. It is of a quadrangular form, with 
waving and unequal sides. On the east, it is bounded by 
the German ocean for about sixteen miles; on the west, by 
Mid-Lothian and Roxburghshire for about eighteen miles; on 
the south, the Tweed separates it from Northumberland for 
fifteen miles, and Roxburgh for twelve miles; on the north, 
it is bounded by East Lothian for upwards of thirty miles. 

DRYBURGH ABBEY. 

The ruins of this Abbey form one of the most interest¬ 
ing objects in this county. They are beautifully situated on 
a peninsula formed by the Tweed, about ten miles above 
Kelso, and three below Melrose. Saint Modun, who was 
one of the first Christian missionaries in Britain, was Abbot 
of Dryburgh, about the year 552. The new Abbey was 
founded by Hugh de Merville, Lord of Lauderdale, and his 
wife Beatrice de Beauchamp, about the year 1150, who ob¬ 
tained a charter of confirmation from King David I. It was 
burnt in the wars of Robert Bruce by the English, but was 
afterwards restored by that heroic monarch. 

Like that of Melrose, the free stone of which this Abbey 
is built, is of a most beautiful colour and texture, and has 
defied the influence of the weather for more than six cen¬ 
turies ; nor is the sharpness of the sculpture in the least af¬ 
fected by the ravages of time. The quarry from which it 


64 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


was taken, is still successfully wrought at Dryburgh. No 
stone in the island seems more perfectly adapted for the 
purposes of architecture, as it hardens by age, and is not 
subject to be corroded or destroyed by the weather, so that it 
might even be used for the cutting of bas-reliefs and statues. 

EMINENT MEN IN BERWICKSHIRE. 

The celebrated Thomas the Rhymer, whose real name 
was Sir Thomas Learmont, was a native of the parish of 
Earlstown, where part of his house is still standing, called 
Rhymer’s Tower; and there is a stone built in the fore wall 
of the church with this inscription on it, “ Aukl Rhymer’s 
race lies in this place.” He died in the 13th century. The 
celebrated metaphysician and theologist, John Duns Sco- 
tus, a Franciscan Friar, is said to have been born at Dunse, 
in the year 1276. From the acuteness and subtlety of his 
intellect, he was called “ Doctor Subtilis.” James Small, 
an ingenious mechanic, who rendered great services to the 
agriculture of Scotland by the improvement of implements 
of husbandry, was also a native of this county. 

DUMFRIES-SHIRE. 

This is the largest county in the south of Scotland. 
From Solway Frith, which washes its southern shore, it 
spreads out into an extensive plain of nearly ten miles in 
breadth, throughout a length of about twenty-four miles. 
Beyond this plain the country expands greatly from east to 
west; and is composed of a series of valleys and hills which 
rise gradually northward, till the level terminates in a range 
of mountains, that sweep along the northern boundary of 
the shire, and separate it from Liddesdale and Teviotdale 
on the north-east; from Selkirk, Tweeddale, and Clydesdale 
on the north; and from Ayrshire on the north-west. The 
most considerable hills in the county are the Alpine range, 




'*»*'<»» JW hy n AOnm. 























































DUMFRIES. 


65 


that stretches along its northern boundary ; “ forbidding 
every bleak unkindly wind to touch the prosperous growth 
of the dales below.” Of all these mountains, the most re¬ 
markable is Hartfell, on the northern extremity of Annan- 
dale, which rises 3300 feet above the level of the sea; and 
is the highest in the south of Scotland. 

DUMFRIES. 

This town stands on the bank of the river Nith, about 
nine miles above where it discharges itself into the Solway 
Frith. It owes its origin to an old castle which stood here, 
previous to the reign of William the Lion. This castle was 
allowed to fall into ruins ; but a new one was erected near¬ 
ly on the same site. Standing so near the borders of Eng¬ 
land, the castle became a subject of frequent contest during 
the successive wars between Bruce and Baliol. During that 
period it was put into the hands of Edward 1., who deliver¬ 
ed it up to Baliol. When Robert Bruce slew John Cumyn, 
in the Gray Friars Church of Dumfries, in 1305-6, he seiz¬ 
ed and took possession of the Castle. In 1415, in 1448, 
and 1544, the town was burnt by the English; and again 
in 1570, it was plundered and burnt by them. 

Since the union of the kingdoms, the burgh of Dumfries 
has greatly increased in its trade and number of inhabitants ; 
but particularly within the last forty years. The houses are 
built of brick and red freestone, and have a light and airy 
appearance. The situation of the town, rising gradually 
from the river, is beautiful and advantageous. It is neat 
and well built; it is well lighted and neatly paved. The 
public buildings are the town-house and jail; a house of 
correct >n ; a theatre; and several churches and chapels. 
One of the most unequivocal proofs of the prosperity of Dum¬ 
fries, however, is to be found in the fact of its supporting 
two newspapers, both yielding large incomes to their pro¬ 
prietors, and both conducted with considerable ability. 


66 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


A singular custom long existed here. The county hangman 
went through the market every market-day with a brass 
ladle, or large spoon, pushed it into the mouth of every sack 
of meal, corn, or other grain, and carried it off full. But 
this custom was not always peculiar to Dumfries. It is 
said to have existed in Glasgow, and other royal burghs, 
where, in progress of time, it was discovered that Jack 
Ketch’s ladle dues were too good a thing to be exclusively 
enjoyed by one functionary. In the latter city, these dues 
have long formed a considerable branch of the close borough 
revenue, to the infinite annoyance of trade, but enormous 
profit of the law. The litigation respecting this local tax, 
or the hangman’s perquisite, has, during a century, cost 
Glasgow, alone, not less than <£50,000 ! ! ! 

Dumfries, among its other objects of interest, presents 
one that must ever distinguish it among Scottish provin¬ 
cial towns. It has the honour to contain the ashes of 
Burns; and, in the church-yard, there is an elegant mo¬ 
nument to his memory. It is also still the residence of 
his widow, who, in a fine green old age, still exhibits, not 
the beau ideal of beauty, but the remains of those peculiar 
attractions which fascinated the youthful affections of the 
bard, and inspired the best of those beautiful lyrics that 
will live while truth, nature, and sensibility, exercise any 
influence over the human heart. As Mrs Burns and her 
family, in consequence of their connexion with the poet, 
are in some respects public property, we do not think 
any apology necessary for quoting the following account 
of a visit paid to her, in 1827, by the late Mr James Do¬ 
nald, advocate. It is extracted from a letter written by 
that ingenious and amiable man, giving a detail of what 
had occurred to him during an excursion into Dumfries¬ 
shire in company with a friend. After describing, in 
graphic terms, their departure from Edinburgh, and 
the earlier incidents of their journey, he says, ic the 
coach at length set us down at the snug hostelrie call- 


THE WIDOW OF BURNS. 


67 


ed the Commercial Inn at Dumfries. It was the after¬ 
noon of one of the most glorious days that ever shone on 
the gay fields and hills of Scotland. Dumfries, the most 
agreeable of provincial towns, which we had never seen 
before, exhibited the appearance of industry and all its 
concomitants. It had neither the intense bustle of Glas¬ 
gow, nor the dignified elegance of the Modern Athens, 
but it had, what pleases a passing stranger as much as 
either of these—an air of neatness and comfort about the 
shops and dwellings and persons of the inhabitants, which 
is not to be found in almost any provincial town to the 
North of the Tweed. Having previously been acquainted 
with some of the good folks who are domicilled within 
the precincts of the town, we visited a few of them, and 
were pleased with our hospitable reception. A walk in 
the cool of a fine evening made us acquainted with the 
environs, which are studded with elegant villas, and, at 
this season of the year, decked with all the rich appear¬ 
ances of fruit-loaded trees, and fields of corn beginning 
to fall under the sickle. Agriculture is here prosecuted 
on scientific principles, and the rotation of crops, with 
every other practical improvement, secure to the indus¬ 
trious and skilful occupiers of the soil, the greatest pos¬ 
sible produce from a given quantity of land. But I am 
not about to write an agricultural survey of Dumfries¬ 
shire. It was to the characters and pursuits of the people, 
past, and present, of this quarter, that we wished chiefly 
to direct our attention. 

In company with one of our friends, who is intimately 
acquainted with the w r idow of the celebrated Burns, we 
paid a morning visit to that most respectable matron, who 
still occupies the house in Dumfries, in which the poet 
lived, and in which he died. She is now well stricken 
in years; and as mere visits of curiosity can seldom be 
agreeable to her, we would not certainly have obtruded 
ourselves, had not our Cicerone been able to introduce us 


68 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


on other terms than those which are usually enjoyed by 
strangers. To the annoyance of this very excellent per¬ 
son, she sometimes finds herself subjected to uncere¬ 
monious visits from utter aliens, and the whole tribe of 
the “ absurdly curious” of the land. To be sure the good 
old lady, like Sir Walter Scott at Edinburgh, may be 
called the greatest lion about Dumfries, and every one 
who has the faintest regard for the memory of the de¬ 
ceased poet, (and what Scotsman has not ?) must speak to 
his surviving half with a feeling of deep respect for her, 
and of sacred and subdued veneration for the man to 
whom Scotland owes her sweetest lays, and by whom 
another great name has been added to the list of those 
whose memory is destined to immortality. The widow 
of Burns, in her old age, still retains a portion of spark¬ 
ling vivacity in her fine dark eyes, and if we mistake not, 
it must have been with these fine features of her counte¬ 
nance, as well as with her <f wood notes wild” that the 
poet was specially charmed when wooing her as the youtli- 
ful Jean Armour. She is now considerably embonpoint , 
and the personal attractions that fascinated the poet are 
no longer visible, always excepting her fine eyes; which 
particular feature, however, might possibly, even in 
youth, be the only witching one she possessed; for we 
should recollect, that in the countenance of Madame de 
Stael, who maugre her purple nose, was without doubt 
the most talented, and one of the most fascinating women 
of her own or any other age, the eyes were delightfully 
expressive, and made up for the absence of every other 
charm. An original, and the best, portrait of Burns by 
Raeburn, is in the possession of Mrs Burns, after having 
been repeatedly almost lost by careless engravers in Lon¬ 
don and Edinburgh, to whom it had been sent for the 
purposes of their art. The original drawing of the Cot¬ 
tar’s Saturday Night, from which ten thousand prints have 
been engraved, also ornaments the parlour of Mrs Burns. 


THE WIDOW OF BURNS. 


69 


The figure which stands at the left side of the father in 
the plate, was meant as a portrait of Burns in his juvenile 
days, and in fact bears a strong resemblance to what we 
find him to have been in manhood; but in every engrav¬ 
ing we have seen of this fine drawing, there is a miser¬ 
able defect of accuracy. Whilst 

“ The Sire turns o’er, with patriarchal grace, 

The big ha’ bible, ance his father’s pride,” 

the young bard is represented in his genuine features, as 
listening with that intense interest, in which we fancy 
we perceive the initiatory workings of the mind which 
was itself afterwards destined to enchant many future ge¬ 
nerations. 

“ We had not much conversation with Mrs Burns; but 
it was very evident from what she said, that she still 
possesses that excellent sense for which her gifted hus¬ 
band always gave her credit, united to an unbounded 
respect for his memory. It is this solid cast of mind in 
her to which we must trace the fact, that all the aberra¬ 
tions, such as they were, of his splendid intellect, never 
had the slightest effect in alienating him from the object 
of his first love. An autographic letter which we lately 
saw from Burns to a very intimate friend, written only 
three weeks before his dissolution, bears evidence of the 
purity and strength of his affection towards his wife and 
the dear pledges of their love, when he was conscious 
that the hand of the destroyer was ready to fall upon 
him. In truth, the idea of leaving his family helpless, 
was, as he himself expresses it in that letter (which is 
still unpublished,) the half of his disease. Happily for 
the credit of his country, and more especially of the 
really English portion of it, his forebodings were disap¬ 
pointed. His widow and his surviving family, have ever 
since his death continued to enjoy an increasing share of 
comfort and prosperity. The merited rewards of genius. 


70 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


though too tardily bestowed to benefit the Poet, have de¬ 
scended upon the head of the virtuous and prudent wife, 
and on her accomplished and grateful sons. 

“ From the house of the Widow we bent our steps to 
the Tomb of Burns, situated in the Churchyard of Dum¬ 
fries. This tomb, about which so much has been said and 
written, and with which our expectations had been con¬ 
siderably raised, greatly disappointed us. Its exterior is 
not once to be compared to the splendid monument erect¬ 
ed at Alloway Kirk ; and the figures of the Poet with his 
hand on the plough, and of the Genius of Scotland, throw¬ 
ing her inspiring mantle over his head, are by no means 
executed with the skill of a first rate artist. The history 
of the design I believe to be, that Turnerelli, the statu- 
ary, by whom the sculpture was executed, was present at 
a convivial meeting, held in memory of Burris, at which 
a subscription was set on foot for the purpose of erecting 
this monument. Turnerelli offered on the instant to ex¬ 
ecute the sculpture for whatever the amount of the sub¬ 
scription might be. It did not exceed £700, and, if I 
do not greatly mistake, the artist has proportioned his 
labour pretty nearly to the pecuniary reward. Had a 
little management been used, I would almost affirm, that 
Chantry or Flaxman, or some of the first rate sculptors, 
would have offered to execute the monument to such 
a genius, without reward at all, and, I will venture to 
say, in far better style than it has been done. I certain¬ 
ly do not aver, that the sculpture is ill executed; but I 
desiderate the exquisite taste and elaborate skill of a great 
master in the art. 

“ The body of Burns was removed from a different 
part of the churchyard where he had been originally bu¬ 
ried, to the site ot this tomb, and the identical grave in 
which he was first deposited, is occupied by the daughter 
of Mrs Dunlop, to whom the poet has addressed so many 
exquisite epistolary communications. 


THE WIDOW OF BURNS. 


71 


u I am sure that no country churchyard in the king¬ 
dom exhibits such a multitude of handsome tomb stones 
and monuments of all kinds as that of Dumfries. In fact, 
it is like visiting a great and well preserved museum, to 
perambulate the precincts of this habitation of the dead. 
The sexton, we were informed, makes a very handsome 
income by showing the Monument of Burns to passing 
visitors. In fact, our friend assured us that this ancient 
worthy makes little short of a hundred pounds a-year 
by admitting strangers to pay homage to the remains of 
the poet. The old fellow is communicative enough, and, 
to his honour be it spoken, he has repaired, at his own 
expense, some of the grave stones of the martyrs of Epis¬ 
copal tyranny who fell in the reign of the infamous James 
II., and whose remains exist in this churchyard. I 
question whether the poet ever made so much by all his 
works as this ancient has done by merely shewing his 
grave—high encouragement, no doubt, for poetical ge¬ 
nius. I have no wish, however, that the grave digger 
should be deprived of so excellent a milch com , as long as 
he continues to show the same attention to casual visitors 
as he did to myself and my friend. 

The age of tears and sentimentality is gone for ever, 
and an age of arithmetic and political economy has suc¬ 
ceeded it. Every thing is now estimated by the sum of 
money which it is worth to the possessor. We found 
ourselves almost disposed to weep over the premature 
fate of our gifted countryman; but the vile train of ideas 
connected with our ordinary calculations recurred in spite 
of us, and subdued every softer feeling. We asked, to 
what account did Burns turn all his great talents ? Our 
rascal.lv catechism obliged us to answer,—He died poor, 
and this, in the world’s eyes, is the worst of all degrada¬ 
tions. But in the eye of the few noble souls who yet 
exist among us, and who despise the cold calculations of 
the mere money changer, the poet died rich in the last 


72 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


endowments of Heaven,—a clear conscience, and a com¬ 
manding and energetic understanding, and in possession 
of a name which all the gold in Peru could not purchase 
for an unintellectual possessor.” 

EMINENT MEN IN DUMFRIES-SHIRE. 

Mr Paterson, who planned the Bank of England, and 
also the Scottish settlement at the Isthmus of Darien, was 
bora in the parish of Tinwald, in this county ; and in the 
same house was bora Dr James Mounsey, who, during many 
years, was first physician to the Emperor of Russia. Dr 
Rogerson, the successor of Dr Mounsey, and his brother- 
in-law, was born in the parish of Johnston. Mr Robert 
Chrichton of Elliock, in the parish of Sanquhar, was a law¬ 
yer of eminence, advocate to Queen Mary and James VI. 
His eldest son James, went abroad young, and became one 
of the most singular characters that have appeared in any 
age. From his extraordinary endowments, both of body and 
mind, he was called the Admirable Chrichton, by which 
title he is still distinguished. It is said that he had scarce¬ 
ly attained his twentieth year when he had gone through 
the whole circle of the sciences, and could write and speak 
perfectly, ten different languages. Nor was this all; for 
he had likewise improved himself in the highest degree in 
riding, dancing, fencing, and singing, and in playing upon 
all sorts of instruments. He was murdered in the streets of 
Mantua, some say in the twenty-second, others, in the 
thirty-second, year of his age. Walking one night in the 
street during the Carnival, he was attacked by six persons 
in masks. The assailants found, however, that they had 
no ordinary person to deal with, for they were unable to 
maintain their ground against him. In the issue, the leader 
of the company being disarmed, pulled off his mask, and 
begged his life, telling him he was the prince, who was his 
pupil. Crichton immediately fell on his knees, and ex- 


STEWARTRY OF KIRKCUDBRIGHT. 


73 


pressed his concern for his mistake, alleging that what he 
had done was only in self-defence, and that if the Prince, 
Vincentio de Gonzago, had any design upon his life he 
might always be master of it. Then taking his own sword 
by the point, he presented it to the prince who immediate¬ 
ly received it, but was so irritated by the affront which he 
thought he had sustained in being foiled with all his attend¬ 
ants, that he instantly ran Crichton through the heart, and 
thus foully murdered him. The accomplishments of Chrich- 
ton were extraordinary for the age in which he lived, hut 
he has been equalled if not surpassed in modern times. 


STEWARTRY OF KIRKCUDBRIGHT. 

This Stewartry comprehends the east and middle parts 

of that district of Scotland called Gallo wav. It varies in 

* 

breadth from twenty-one to thirty-one miles. From the 
shore of the Solway Frith, the stewartry spreads out in a 
northern direction; and gradually rising in elevation, it 
meets at length with Ayrshire on the north-west, and Dum- 
fries-shire on the north-east. Thus, it has not like Dum- 
fries-shire, any extensive plain on the margin of the Solway; 
the whole country is hilly, to the very shore of the Frith. 
It only varies in the greater or less size of the hills, which 
are every where intermixed with valleys that form the natu¬ 
ral drains of this moist and ridgy district. Crawfell, or 
Criffel, on the east, and Cairnmuir on the west, are the 
most noted hills in the Stewartry. The first rises 1900 
feet above the level of the Solway, and the latter is much 
about the same height. In ancient times the chief magis¬ 
trate received the appellation of Steward, instead of that 
of Sheriff; and the county came thus to be called a Stew¬ 
artry. The Sheriff is still styled Sheriff of the Stewartry of 
Kircudbright, although his jurisdiction and his powers are 
precisely those of a sheriff. 

D 


74 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


LINCLUDEN COLLEGE. 

In the parish of Terregles, in the eastern part of the stew- 
artry, are the ruins of the ancient college of Lincluden. 
They stand upon a small stream called the water of Clu- 
den, where it falls into the river Nith about two miles above 
Dumfries. It was originally a Benedictine Nunnery, found¬ 
ed in the reign of Malcolm IV. by Uthred, father of Rol- 
land, Lord of Galloway, who is buried here. It was changed 
by Archibald Earl of Douglas, and Lord of Galloway, into 
a collegiate church for a provost and twelve beadsmen. This 
is said to have been on account of the scandalous lives led 
by the nuns; but it is more probable, that it was done from 
motives of policy, as it allowed the powerful Douglasses an 
opportunity of providing for their younger branches and de¬ 
pendants. 

Earl Archibald died in 1400, and was buried in the ves¬ 
try, over the door of which are still to be seen his arms and 
those of his lady, who was heiress of Both well, in Clydes¬ 
dale. The provosts of Lincluden were generally persons 
of considerable eminence, and many of them appear to have 
filled high and important offices in the state. From what 
still remains of the ruins, which is part of the provost’s house, 
the choir, and part of the south wall of the church, an idea 
may be formed of its former splendour. The choir is in the 
finest style of the decorated English, or pointed architecture. 
The roof was treble, in the manner of that of King’s College 
at Cambridge, and the trusses from whence the ribbed work 
sprung are covered with coats of arms. 

The Earls of Douglas, when in the height of their power 
and greatness, expended considerable sums in ornamenting 
it. In the church is the elegant tomb of Margaret, daughter 
of Robert III., wife of Archibald Earl of Douglas, first Duke 
of Touraine, and son of Archibald the Grim. Her effigy, 


AYRSHIRE. 


75 


at full length, lay on the stone, her head resting on a cu¬ 
shion ; but the figure is mutilated and broken. The tomb 
is in the form of a shrine, having an arch in front, every part 
of which is beautifully carved. On the middle of the arch 
is the heart, the Douglas arms, guarded by three chalices 
set crosswise, with a star near each. The chalices are sup¬ 
posed to be cups, the insignia of the office of the Douglasses, 
as cup-hearers of Scotland. In front of the tomb are nine 
shields, containing as many sorts of arms. In one are three 
stars, the original arms of this great house ; the heart was 
not added till the good Sir James was employed in carrying 
that of Robert Bruce to the holy land. Besides these there 
are the arms after that event, and also their arms as lords of 
Annandale, Galloway, and Liddisdale. 


AYRSHIRE. 

This important county lies along the Frith of Clyde, 
which washes its western shore, for an extent of upwards of 
ninety miles from its northern extremity, at Kelly-burn, to 
its southern at Galloway-burn, where it enters Loch Ryan. 
Its breadth is in general, from twenty to twenty-five miles. 
It is bounded on the north and north-east, by Renfrewshire ; 
on the east, by Lanarkshire, and Dumfries-shire ; the stew- 
artry of Kirkcudbright, on the south-east, and by Wigton- 
shire on the south. It contains three divisions ; Carrick on 
the south ; Coil or Kyle in the centre ; and Cunninghame, 
which includes all the northern district. Almost the whole 
of its surface consists of an alternation of hill and dale. Along 
the shores of the Frith, there are in some places narrow plains, 
which, however, over-abound with sand and gravel. At 
some distance eastward from the shore, as the eye looks 
upward, nothing is perceived but hill after hill, which, how¬ 
ever, are covered with a lively green. Yet none of the 
mountains rise to auy extraordinary height. 


76 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


AYR. 

This ancient county town is situated on a level penin¬ 
sula, formed by the rivers Ayr and Doon, which here 
flow into the Frith of Clyde. It is seventy-one miles 
distant from Glasgow by the coast road; but only thirty- 
three by Kilmarnock. A village must have existed here 
previous to 1197, for in that year, we know that William 
the Lion erected a new town and castle upon the water 
of Ayr. A few years afterwards he granted a charter to 
the inhabitants, erecting the town into a royal burgh. 
They have received several subsequent charters from dif¬ 
ferent sovereigns. During the competition wars, and the 
invasion of Scotland by Edward I., Ayr seems to have 
been considered a place of considerable importance by 
the English ; and here many of the early exploits of Wal- 
ace were performed. Its localities are every where asso¬ 
ciated with his name, and his deeds. Prior to the Refor¬ 
mation it contained two monasteries. 

Ayr is now a rather handsome seaport town, and its 
streets present considerable appearance of enterprise and 
industry. The houses, in the older part, are lofty and 
picturesque; while in the more modern streets they are 
elegant, and most of them on the plan of self-contained 
lodgings. Many of the shops rival those of Edinburgh 
or Glasgow. The public buildings, though not nume¬ 
rous are splendid. The county buildings, in which the 
courts of justice sit, and in which the public officers have 
apartments, present a fine specimen of Grecian architec¬ 
ture. The new town-house is also a fine building, sur¬ 
mounted by a lofty, well-proportioned spire. The aca¬ 
demy is a neat structure, but is more worthy of notice 
for the fame it has long held as a place of education. 




■ ' 


I - A R (r S 


Tl'KNBERRY CASTLE 


A V R 


Ly Gray 8c S 























































TURNBERRY CASTLE. 


77 


TURNBERRY CASTLE. 

The ruins of this ancient and celebrated pile, are still 
to be seen in the parish of Kirkoswald. They stand on 
the north-west point of a rocky angle of the coast, where 
it turns towards Girvan. This castle belonged to Alex¬ 
ander Earl of Carrick, who died in the Holy Land, and 
left an only daughter named Martha, Countess of Carrick. 
Having met Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale in Scot¬ 
land, and Cleveland in England, hunting near her castle, 
she invited him thither; and they were speedily married 
in 1274. The grandson of this marriage was Robert 
Bruce, who afterwards ascended the Scottish throne. His 
daughter, Marjory, married Walter, the Steward of Scot¬ 
land ; and their son Robert Stewart, ascended the throne 
on the death of his uncle, David II., the son of Robert 
Bruce. From these marriages, therefore, sprung the fa¬ 
mily who so long ruled Scotland, and subsequently Great 
Britain, and from whom the present reigning family de¬ 
rive their right. 

Turnberry Castle was in the hands of the English du¬ 
ring the invasion of Edward I. In 1306, Robert Bruce 
having taken shelter in Arran, sent a person from thence 
to learn how his vassals ill Carrick stood affected to his 
cause. The messenger was ordered, if he saw that affairs 
were favourable, to light a fire on an eminence above the 
Castle of Turnberry. The English were found to have the 
entire possession of Carrick; and Percy with a numerous 
garrison lay at Turnberry; none, therefore, durst espouse 
the party of Bruce, and many were hostile to it. 

From the earliest dawn of the day appointed for the sig¬ 
nal, Bruce kept his eyes fixed on the coast of Carrick ; but 
it was not till noon had passed that he perceived the beacon 
fire. He flew instantly into a boat, and hasted over; but night 
came on, while he and his associates were yet at sea. Guid- 


78 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ed by the fire, however, they reached the shore. The mes¬ 
senger met them and reported that there was no hope of aid. 

“ Traitor!” cried Bruce, “ why did you make the signal!” 
“ I made no signal,” replied he, “ hut observing a fire on an 
eminence I feared it might deceive you, and I hasted hither 
to warn you from the coast.” 

Bruce hesitated amidst the dangers with which he was 
surrounded. At length, obeying the dictates of valour, he 
resolved to persevere. He attacked the English, carelessly 
cantoned in the neighbourhood of Turnberry, put them to 
the sword and pillaged their quarters. Percy heard the 
uproar from the castle, yet durst not issue forth against an 
unknown enemy. Bruce, with his followers, not exceeding 
three hundred in number, remained for some days near 
Turnberry ; but succours having arrived to the English 
from neighbouring garrisons, he was obliged to seek shelter 
in the mountainous parts of Carrick. Some years after¬ 
wards, however, Bruce stormed and took the castle, which 
he almost entirely demolished. It does not appear to have 
been ever afterwards rebuilt or inhabited. 

The situation of this castle is beautiful, having a full 
view of the Frith of Clyde and its shores. It overlooks on 
the land side, a rich plain of about six hundred acres ; 
bounded by softly rising hills. Little more than the founda¬ 
tion now remains of the building. The vestiges of the ditch 
may still be traced, and part of the buttresses of the draw¬ 
bridge. There is a passage which leads from one of the 
lower apartments of the castle to the sea. The ruins, as they 
now lie, cover an acre of ground. 

LARGS. 

Largs is one of the most fashionable and best fre¬ 
quented watering places on the Frith of Clyde. It is situ¬ 
ated on a plain, which extends along the coast for about 
three-quarters of a mile, and is sheltered on the north and 


LARGS. 


79 


east by surrounding hills; the air, therefore, is generally 
mild and genial, and the sea-breeze healthful and invigorat¬ 
ing. 

The principal street runs along the beach, having the sea 
in front of the houses, but, besides this, there are one or 
two other streets and lanes. Many of the houses are good, 
but they have been built with little regard to regularity, and 
the whole has rather a scattered look. 

At this place was fought a celebrated battle in 1263, be¬ 
tween the Scots and the Norwegians, the latter under Haco, 
their king, which had the beneficial effect of terminating the 
inroads of those invaders of Scotland, and causing them to 
renounce the claim they had so long maintained to the He¬ 
brides, and the Orkney and Shetland Isles. The Norwe¬ 
gian accounts mention that Haco lay with his fleet in Fairley 
Roads, a little below Largs, without landing his troops; that 
on the night of the first October, 1263, a violent storm came 
on, in consequence of which, some of the vessels began to 
drag their anchors, and a transport ran foul of the king’s 
ship. The cable of this transport was cut, and she ran 
on shore with a galley. Several of the rest were forced 
to cut away their masts, and five of them ran aground. 

The Scots on shore took advantage of the Norwegians’ 
distress. The main army had not appeared, but the 
parties stationed to observe the motions of the enemy, 
attacked the ships that had been driven on shore with 
missile weapons, while boats were sent by Haco with 
reinforcements for their relief. The Norwegians remain¬ 
ed on shore during the night, but the Scots plundered 
the transport and burned it. On the morning of Wed¬ 
nesday, Haco landed with a numerous reinforcement. 
The Scottish army now appeared. It was commanded 
by Alexander, the Steward of Scotland, and it is said the 
king himself, Alexander III., was present. 

Haco stationed a party on the high ground, not far 
from the shore. Here there were various skirmishes, and 


80 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


Haco appears to have returned to his ships. In the Nor¬ 
wegian accounts, the Scottish army is represented as 
highly respectable. The cavalry alone were conjectured 
to be about fifteen hundred, the horses having breast¬ 
plates, and some of the Spanish steeds being clad in com¬ 
plete armour; this well appointed force gave irresistible 
effect to a numerous army on foot, armed with bows and 
spears. After a fierce and doubtful conflict; the Norwe¬ 
gians were driven in confusion to the shore, throwing 
those stationed there also into confusion. These in their 
turn rushed to the boats, several of which, from being 
overloaded, were sunk, and a number of men drowned. 
Others pushed off the boats and refused to return for 
their companions. Haco of Stieni, a relation of the king, 
here fell. A distinguished Scottish knight also fell, named 
Peter de Curry. He is described as being armed and ac¬ 
coutered in the most magnificent manner, having a hel¬ 
met plated with gold and adorned with precious stones. 

There were many desperate encounters between indi¬ 
viduals as well as divisions of the two armies; and at 
length Haco, after being allowed to bury his dead, retired 
from the coast, and died at Kirkwall, before he reach¬ 
ed Norway. The country around Largs contains many 
traces of the effects of this memorable battle; tumuli, stone 
coffins with human bones, memorial stones, weapons, and 
other marks of warlike strife have been found upon the 
spot. One of the tumuli was opened sometime ago, 
and about thirty thousand carts of stones taken from it. 
This was found to cover a building of stone, in the 
centre of which was found the remains of a human body, 
and around it a number of others, supposed about thirty. 

ROBERT BURNS. 

Ayrshire can boast of various eminent characters, but 
the most distinguished in the list is unquestionably this 
humble son of the plough ; the man who has consecrated 


ROBERT BURNS. 


81 


every mountain and every stream of the district to the mu¬ 
ses, and indeed rendered the whole territory classic ground. 
He was the son of William Burns, gardener to Mr Fergu¬ 
son of Doonholm, and born within two miles of the town 
of Ayr, near the banks of the Doon, which he was after¬ 
wards to immortalize by his strains. We cannot enter 
into minute details respecting the character or the talents 
of this noble son of nature, because we have not room to 
do justice to either ; nor is it necessary, for these have been 
already illustrated by far abler hands; and the world 
which looked cold upon him in life, has now done him 
tardy justice. The name of Burns is co-extensive with 
the knowledge of the English language; his poetry being 
cherished alike in the poor man’s cottage and in the ba¬ 
ron’s hall. Nor can we omit to mention that a few years 
ago, on the anniversary of his birth-day, above three 
hundred individuals, among whom were many of the 
most noble and most talented of the land, considered 
themselves honoured in sitting down to do homage to the 
memory of a lowly peasant. 

Within these few years a splendid monument has been 
erected to him, about a quarter of a mile from the cottage 
where he was born, and upon the road between Ayr and 
Maybole. The ruins of the old kirk of Alloway, which 
has been hallowed by his genius, are on the opposite side of 
the road, and the “Brig of Doon,” where Tam O’Shanter’s 
mare so dextrously 

“ Brought affher master haill, 

But left behind her ain grey tail,” 

is within a short distance of it. The water of Doon, whose 
“ banks and braes” he sang so passionately, flows past 
the spot. To Scotsmen, at least, this district of Ayrshire, 
including the town and its neighbourhood, must ever af¬ 
ford recollections of the most exciting interest. It has 
been called, and truly and emphatically so, " the land of 

d 2 


82 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


Burnsfor here the various delightful associations con¬ 
nected with his loved name, are most powerfully awaken¬ 
ed. He was born and lived to manhood in the immedi* 
ate vicinity of the town; and the cottage still stands in 
which he first saw the light. Here the genius of poetry, 
as he himself expresses it, “ found him at the plough, and 
threw her inspiring mantle over him.” Numerous locali¬ 
ties within the town and its neighbourhood, have received 
a deathless fame from the power of his genius. Yes! it is 
indeed the t( land of Burns,” and all who visit it, even the 
dullest of mortals, feel themselves raised above their or¬ 
dinary nature, and receive for a time, as it were, a por¬ 
tion of his inspiration. The surrounding country seems 
one great temple in honour of the bard, of which his mo¬ 
nument forms the shrine, to which pilgrims from every 
land repair to pay their tribute of love and gratitude to 
his memory. 

Among the numerous descriptive accounts which have 
been written by travellers who have visited this interest¬ 
ing spot, there was one published a few years ago in a 
Glasgow journal which, for graphic detail, has not been 
surpassed by any other that we have seen. It was from the 
pen, we believe, of an Ayrshire gentleman, who accompa¬ 
nied a stranger on an excursion to see the monument of 
the Poet—and though it also embraces a few extraneous 
topics, yet it is altogether so accurate in point of descrip¬ 
tion, and so pleasing in the style, that we shall make no 
apology for quoting a portion of it here. The writer, after 
a short introduction, stating the motive of their journey 
and expressing the pleasure they felt at escaping the 
smoke and dust of a great city, proceeds with his narra¬ 
tive, and mentions, that “ having ensconced themselve s 
in the Ayr Telegraph, on a Saturday morning, they had 
the pleasure, in little more than an hour, of breathing the 
pure unadulterated atmosphere of Drumboy Hill.” He 
then pronounces a panegyric on the delightful breakfasts 


MONUMENT OF BURNS. 


83 


of Kingswell Inn, dwelling with luxurious rapture on the 
various good things usually presented on the landlord’s 
hospitable board, and concluding with this characteristic 
remark, that “ the eggs were as fresh, the ham as savoury, 
the rolls and butter as delicious, the tea, cream, and sugar, 
as exquisite, and the snow-white tablecloth as beautiful, as 
he had ever found them before.” “ Twenty minutes,” con¬ 
tinues he, ei the time allowed for the morning repast, 
leaves one less leisure to do justice to Mr Picken’s good 
cheer than could be desired ; but we managed to put our¬ 
selves in tolerably good humour notwithstanding, and took 
our seats at the third blast of the horn, with a determina¬ 
tion to be pleased not only with ourselves but with others, 
and, if possible to break the silence which had sealed the 
lips of every passenger during the morning stage. In 
making this arrangement, we adhered to immemorial 
custom, and selected the weather as a preliminary sub¬ 
ject ; but, alas, it was all in vain. No effort of ours could 
provoke more than a monosyllable in return, and it was 
not till the coach stopped at Kilmarnock, where an ex¬ 
change of prisoners was effected, that we were relieved 
from our dumb companions du voyage. The stage to Ayr 
was happilv more to our liking, for we had the company 
of an English gentleman, sometime resident at Kilmar¬ 
nock, who was not only full of anecdote and information, 
but exceedingly willing to communicate it for the benefit 
of others. 

“ Arrived at Ayr, we called for a friend, to whom we had 
previously written respecting our excursion, but heard that 
he had gone at an early hour to the Water of Doon, to 
lure, 

“ From his dark haunts, beneath the tangled roots 
Of pendant trees, the monarch of the brook.” 

Thither we hastened, and keeping the water’s edge, as di¬ 
rected, from the low to the high bridge, than which a more 
delightful walk could hardly be imagined, we found him 


84 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


throwing the “ delusive fly” in a favourite stream without 
success. He readily agreed to wind up his fishing tackle, and 
at once accompanied us to the monument of Burns, where we 
had long desired to pay homage to the memory of the bard. 
The day was clear and serene. The birds were carolling 
on every tree. The bushes that overhung the river, were 
springing into life, and although the roses had not yet open¬ 
ed their crimson folds, we were almost persuaded to believe 
with our friend, when, half in earnest, he averred that the 
birds sang, and the roses bloomed more sweetly on the 
Banks of the Doon, than in any other place. On our way 
we passed 

“ The thorn aboon the well, 

"Where Mungo’s mither hanged hersel’.” 

And in a few minutes stood within the roofless walls of 
“ Alloway’s auld haunted Kirk,” where we were almost dis¬ 
posed to indulge that superstitious feeling which the power¬ 
ful and unrivalled imagery with which the place has been 
invested by Burns, is so well calculated to inspire. The 
ruin is surrounded by a small plot of burying-ground, and 
here, among others of less note, we found the grave of the 
Poet’s father ; but the stone which marked the spot, and re¬ 
corded his death, has been levelled to the ground, and pur¬ 
loined piecemeal by the sacrilegious hands of relic hunters. 
We can excuse much of the extravagance of enthusiasm, 
but the Goths who committed this outrage, are unworthy 
of a stone (unless it were in ridicule) to mark where their 
own absurd bones may be ultimately gathered. 

“ We now approached the monument, which consists of 
a three sided rustic basement, supporting a circular peristyle 
of the Corinthian order, surmounted by a cupola, the deco¬ 
rations of which are in strict accordance with the finest spe¬ 
cimens of Grecian art. The substructure is very massive, 
and forms an appropriate basement, the monument being so 
placed that each side is respectively opposite one of the three 
great divisions of Ayrshire. The interior of the basement 


MONUMENT OF BURNS. 


85 


affords a circular chamber, upwards of eighteen feet diame¬ 
ter, and sixteen feet high, lighted by a cupola of stained 
glass. Opposite the entrance is a large semi-circular recess, 
supported by columns of the Grecian Doric order, the en¬ 
tablature of which is continued round the whole apartment. 
Between these columns it is proposed to place a statue, or 
at least a bust of the poet. A staircase, entering from the 
interior, leads to a gallery above, which commands an exten¬ 
sive prospect of varied landscape, including many of the 
scenes described or alluded to in the poetry of Burns. On 
the top of the basement, and exactly above the entrance on 
the one side, and above each of the niches upon the other 
two sides of the monument, is placed a very massive tablet, 
with a rich scroll ornament, in the centre of which is a re¬ 
presentation of the mountain daisy, so beautifully apostro¬ 
phised in one of the finest poems of the Bard. The super¬ 
structure is composed of nine columns, corresponding to the 
number of the muses, and the frieze of their entablature is 
richly decorated with chaplets of laurel. The principal 
cornice, and also the highly sculptured ornaments surround¬ 
ing the dome, are of a character similar to those of the Athe¬ 
nian Monument of Lysicrates, which the architect fixed on 
as a model. He has, however, made some important devi¬ 
ations, such as adopting the design of the columns from that 
of the temple of Jupiter Stator, in the Campo Vaccini at 
Rome, which is by far the finest specimen of the order now 
extant, and which, so far as we know, has not previously 
been imitated in this country. An ornament of consider¬ 
able magnitude, upwards of seven feet high, wholly com¬ 
posed of various kinds of fruit, flowers, and foliage, and 
supported by three dolphins, pointing to the three different 
angles of the base, surmounts the dome, and forms an appro¬ 
priate pedestal for a richly gilt tripod, six feet high. The 
monument has recently been surrounded by a handsome 
cast-iron railing, of a triangular form, which gives breadth 
to, and greatly relieves, the substructure, and the whole is 


86 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


enclosed by a stone wall. The grounds are tastefully laid 
out with gravel walks—they contain a richly sculptured sun 
dial, the gift of a lady; and are planted with all sorts ot 
flowers and shrubs, among the most curious of which are 
two scion plants of Shakspeare’s famous mulberry tree, from 
Stratford-upon-Avon. The monument contains an excellent 
portrait of Burns, painted by Stevenson, an Ayrshire artist 
of considerable celebrity, from the original portrait, by Nay- 
smith, in the possession of Mrs Burns. It contains also va¬ 
rious editions of the Poet’s works—some curious and richly 
mounted quaighs and snuff-boxes, made from the roof of Allo- 
way Kirk, and it is furnished with a massive oaken table and 
chairs—all of which bear to have been presented by admirers 
of his genius. 

“ We have been more particular in our description of this 
interesting building than may seem necessary to those rea¬ 
ders who have already had the pleasure of seeing it, but we 
calculate upon a large indulgence when writing on such a 
subject, and should that be denied us, we would plead, that 
many of the admirers of Burns are not aware of the attrac¬ 
tions which the monument presents to their notice. In point 
of architectural beauty it stands unrivalled by any other edi¬ 
fice of the kind in the kingdom ; and the surrounding coun¬ 
try, which has been rendered classical by the genius of the 
Poet, may, upon its own merits, without exaggeration, be 
styled the garden of Ayrshire. There, as it were, all nature 
harmonizes with those feelings of mingled admiration and 
regret, which the remembrance of the Poet inspires; and 
the effusions of his muse, which every Scotsman reads with 
increased delight in the closet, are dwelt upon amid the as¬ 
sociations of this witching ground, with indescribable admi¬ 
ration. We had the pleasure of meeting, among a crowd of 
visitors, with Mr Hamilton of Edinburgh, the architect who 
planned the monument, and generously devoted the price of 
his labour towards its erection; also the Rev. and ingenious 
Mr Paul, who has proved his admiration of the bard by editing 


THOM THE SCULPTOR. 


87 


an edition of his works. We had likewise the good fortune 
o meet with a musical party, among whom was Miss Tun- 
stall, of the Edinburgh Theatre. Just as we entered the 
room, that accomplished vocalist was engaged with a gentle¬ 
man amateur, in the appropriate and exquisite duet of 4 Ye 
Banks and Braes and though often as we have heard and 
admired it, we never felt its power so intensely as at that de¬ 
lightful moment. At the close of this performance, several 
gentlemen, entering into the spirit of 4 social glee/ which then 
warmed every bosom, volunteered their services in the same 
way. 4 It wr's upon a Lammas Night,’ was accordingly sung 
con amore, and led us once more back to the days of youth 
and hope. 4 John Anderson my jo,’ followed. It was exe¬ 
cuted with a degree of taste and feeling seldom attained by 
amateurs; and if the writer of this notice could have for¬ 
gotten a certain passage in his own eventful life, which had 
just been forced on his remembrance by the simple story ot 
4 Ye Banks and Braes,’ fancy might easily have painted his 
last days like those of John Anderson—but alas ! he is yet a 
Bachelor, and 4 Time, the thief, has stolen his locks away.’ 
Miss Tunstall closed the concert, by singing, 4 Cam’ ye by 
Athol/ and left the whole party in equal admiration of her 
obliging frankness, and the power—the pathos—and brillian 
execution which she displayed in her songs. 

44 We now took leave of this 4 charmed spot/ resolved a 
some future period to renew our visit. Upon returning to 
Ayr, we were conducted to see some specimens of sculp 
ture, by a young and rustic artist, of the name of Thom, 
who had just made his debut in that sublime art; and we 
were equally delighted and surprised at the extraordinar y 
success of his efforts. Mr Thom is a native of Dalrymple, 
jn Ayrshire. He was bred a mason, but from the com¬ 
mencement of his apprenticeship he shewed a great pre- 
d ilection for the ornamental department of his business 
»- nd was frequently employed at carved work, sometimes 
utting a ram’s head, or occasionally copying the distorted 


88 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


visages of some sculptured fountain, for his amusement. 
He had, however, higher game in view, and finding that 
these minor efforts gave satisfaction, he proposed to Mr 
David Auld, of Ayr, to cut a figure of Tam O’Shanter. 
Mr Auld, whose love of the arts, and admiration of Burns, 
are well known, immediately employed Mr Thom, and, un¬ 
der his auspices, the statue was completed. Mr Auld, we 
were informed, generously intends that it shall he placed at 
the monument. The figure is as large as life, and is seated 
in an antique elbow chair, with the left hand carelessly rest¬ 
ing on the knob of the chair-arm, while the right is in the 
act of carrying a horn of 1 reaming swats’ to his mouth, but 
suspended for a moment, near the lip, until the laugh, with 
which his countenance is lighted up, shall he over. There is 
in the features such a mixture of glee, humour, and shrewd¬ 
ness, as to produce, with admirable effect, that 4 deil may 
care’ expression which we have observed in the face of a jo¬ 
vial farmer in his cups, 4 O’er a’ the ills of life victorious ; 
and, withal, such a degree of vivacity that the spectator is 
completely bewitched by the illusion, and would hardly be 
surprised if Tam were to give a toast at the end of his laugh. 
The costume is a broad bonnet—a coat and vest of the last 
century, with the legs encased in rig-and-fur gamasheons, 
all of exquisite workmanship. The proportions and sym¬ 
metry of the figure are faultless, and it possesses in its atti¬ 
tude the ease and freedom of real life. 

“ In order to encourage the artist, a subscription had 
been entered into for a statue of Souter Johnnie, the boon 
companion of the celebrated Tam. The artist had already 
commenced, and so far as he had gone, when we had the 
pleasure of seeing him, he has been equally happy as in his 
first attempt. The head of the Souter was nearly finished. 
He wears a night cap of the true Kilmarnock sort, and on 
his broad face there rests a smile of ineffable satisfaction, as 
if he had just told one of his ei queerist stories,” and was 
conscious of his power to set the table in a roar. The ori- 


BUTESHIRE. 


89 


ginality displayed by Mr Thom, both in the conception and 
execution of these figures, is exceedingly striking, and merits 
every success. We therefore trust that the decided proofs 
of extraordinary talent he has already evinced for this highest 
department of art, will be cherished and patronised by the 
lovers of sculpture ; and that Ayrshire may yet be able to 
boast of another of her rustic sons delighting the world by 
the productions of unrivalled genius.” 

This was the first public notice of the celebrated figures 
of Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny. They were im¬ 
mediately afterwards exhibited in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and 
London, where they drew crowds of admiring spectators. 
They received universal applause as unique specimens of 
art, and the ingenious artist realised all the success that had 
been anticipated for him by his friends. 

BUTESHIRE. 

This county consists of the Islands of Bute and Arran, 
and the small Isles of the greater and lesser Cumbrays, and 
Inchmarnock. Bute is situated in the Frith of Clyde, upon 
the coast of Cowal, from which it is separated by a long 
narrow channel, of about half a mile in breadth, called the 
Kyles of Bute. It is about eighteen miles in length, and its 
greatest breadth from east to west, is about five miles. It 
is hilly throughout, particularly on the Cowal side; at its 
northern extremity it is rocky and barren, but the southern 
part is more fertile. In that district, very extensive tracts 
are under cultivation, and it is well inclosed. 

A large portion of the Island forms the original patri¬ 
mony of the family of Bute, and of course its welfare and 
improvement have been objects of great and uniform so¬ 
licitude to the noble proprietors. The influence of the 
latter has often been very successfully exerted with Go¬ 
vernment in favour of their friends and dependants in 
the county, ever since their great ancestor, John, Earl of 


90 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


Bute, was elevated to the office of Prime Minister, at the 
commencement of the reign of George the Third. Prior 
to that period, Bute, and all that belonged to it, exhi¬ 
bited nothing but poverty, wretchedness, and decay ; so 
much so, indeed, that a writer, while describing the town of 
Rothesay in 1762, states that “many of the houses then 
lay in ruins.” Thenceforward, however, both the Island 
and its inhabitants have progressively prospered, and, 
at this moment, there is not, perhaps, in Scotland, a 
spot that exhibits more unequivocal symptoms of wealth, 
or a more diffused enjoyment of all the substantial com¬ 
forts that belong to a highly improved condition of so¬ 
ciety. It was under the auspices of the Bute family that 
the Herring Fishery was established at Rothesay, and a 
commodious harbour formed for the use of the vessels 
engaged in it. This was productive of great emolu¬ 
ment to the inhabitants, in consequence of peculiar ad¬ 
vantages enjoyed by the port—though some of them 
connected with the salt duties are said not to have been 
over favourable to the revenue. But, of late years, the 
prosperity of the Island is chiefly to be ascribed to steam 
navigation, and the cotton spinning manufacture. Agricul¬ 
ture, too, has formed an important pursuit, and the patron¬ 
age of the present Lord Bute has contributed greatly to ex¬ 
tend and improve it. Under the direction of his Lordship’s 
able and intelligent land-steward, Mr Gird wood, the most 
rapid improvements in farming have taken place during 
the last fifteen years. This gentleman conducts all his 

agricultural operations on the most approved principles_ 

combining scientific knowledge with practical experience. 
In that respect he has been eminently useful to Bute, and 
we believe his services are justly appreciated by his noble 
employer. In the grazing of cattle, as well as in the ge¬ 
neral business of farming, Bute owes to his example a 
reputation that now equals that of the first agricultural 


BUTESHIRE. 


91 


districts ot Scotland. Mr Girdwood is also known as a 
successful contributor to various literary journals. 

Arran lies to the south-west of Bute, nearer the mouth of 
the Frith, directly opposite to the mouth of Loch Fyne. It 
is from twenty-four to thirty miles in length. Its greatest 
breadth from east to west is about fourteen miles. The sur¬ 
face of the Island is every where rugged and mountainous; 
and it is said, that from the top of Goatfell, its highest moun¬ 
tain, England, Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, can be 
seen at once. 

It is remarkable as having been the original patrimonial 
property of the Crown. In 1334, it belonged entirely to 
Robert Stuart, great Steward of Scotland, afterwards Ro¬ 
bert the Second. The inhabitants at that period nobly se¬ 
conded their lord, and took up arms in his cause, in grati¬ 
tude for which he not only remitted an annual tribute of 
corn which they had been long accustomed to pay, but con¬ 
ferred some new privileges, and presented a donation to 
every man who had taken the field in his favour. In 1456, 
the Island was ravaged by Donald, the Lord of the Isles. 
It was then the property of James the Second. In the next 
reign, however, it ceased to belong to the Crown, in conse¬ 
quence of the King’s sister being matched to Thomas, Lord 
Boyd, to whom it was transferred as part of the Princess’s 
dowry. This nobleman was soon created Earl of Arran, 
but afterwards fell into disgrace, when the King caused the 
Countess to be divorced from her luckless husband, and then 
bestowed both the lady and the Island on Sir James Hamil¬ 
ton. Accordingly, with the exception of a very few farms, 
it still forms part of the Hamilton family inheritance. 
There are many traditionary accounts of the Island having 
been the favourite hunting ground of i( Fingal, the son of 
Comhal,” the father of Ossian. It is full of rude antiquities 
having reference to the name of that hero. A less doubtful 
tradition, however, states it to have been the chosen shelter 
of Robert Bruce, during his adverse fortunes. The fidelity of 


92 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


his Arran vassals was never afterwards forgotten by that mo¬ 
narch. Numbers of them followed him to the mainland to 
combat the English. Their zeal and valour merited reward, 
and the graleful Robert was not slow to confer it. After 
the battle of Bannockburn, the Fullartons, the M‘Cooks, 
M‘Kirinons, McBrides, and M'Loues, received charters of 
land in the Island. All these, except the Fullartons, and a 
Stuart, descended from a son of Robert the Second, are 
now absorbed by one great family. It is curious that, not¬ 
withstanding the extent of the Island, and its conspicuous 
appearance in the Firth, it is unnoticed by any of the an¬ 
cients. Camden, indeed, states it as the Glota of Antonine, 
but no such name occurs in the Itinerary of the latter, and, 
therefore, it must have been bestowed on Arran by some of 
his commentators. 

The Islands of the greater and lesser Cumbrays are situ¬ 
ated on the coast of Ayrshire, to the south-east of Bute ; 
and the small Isle of Inchmarnock between that island and 
Cowal, which derives its name from St Marnoch. The 
ruins of a chapel are to be seen on it, where, in ancient 
times, there is said to have been a cell of monks. This 
little Island is computed to contain 120 acres of arable 
land, 40 of brushwood, about 300 of moor, and it has a 
vast stratum of coral and shells on its western side. Its 
surface is finely diversified with hill and dale. 

While this county affords, perhaps, one of the best in¬ 
stances existing, of the progress of general improvement 
in Scotland, during the last half century, it also exempli¬ 
fies, in a very striking manner, the degraded character of 
that spurious representation which is the political disgrace 
of the country, and which nothing but a system of fraud 
and villany could have so long perpetuated, in defiance of 
the increasing lights and intelligence of the age. In this 
respect Bute has acquired a sort of disgraceful immorta¬ 
lity, for it was the only county that the Lord Advocate, 
Jeffrey, quoted as an example of mock representation, in his 


ROTHESAY. 


93 


celebrated speech on the second reading of the Scottish 
Reform Bill in 1831. On that occasion his Lordship 
certainly made an example of Bute. His illustration is 
equally curious and instructive, and we shall here quote 
it in evidence both of the fraudulent system, under which 
Scotsmen were so long kept out of their just political 
rights, and of the strong necessity that called for a re¬ 
generation of the Constitution by means of Parliamentary 
Reform. “ In Buteshire,” his Lordship said, “ the voters 
were twenty-one, and twenty of them had no property 
whatever in the county. At one election there, within 
the memory of man, when the day of election arrived, 
only one person qualified to vote attended, and that per¬ 
son was the Sheriff. He read the writ to the meeting as 
Sheriff; then he constituted the meeting; then, having 
constituted the meeting, he called over the names on the 
roll; then he answered to the names himself; then he 
put the vote for a preses to the meeting ; then he elected 
himself preses; then he moved that the resolutions of the 
meeting be confirmed; then he confirmed them himself; 
then, last of all, he put the representation to the vote, and 
being himself the whole meeting, made an unanimous re¬ 
turn ! !!” It is scarcely necessary to add that the House 
of Commons was convulsed with laughter on hearing this 
detail of the perfection of Scottish representation. 

ROTHESAY. 

Rothesay, w'hich was once the favourite residence 
of kings, is now merely distinguished as a favourite 
watering place, affording peculiar advantages as a resi¬ 
dence for invalids. Its situation is particularly delight¬ 
ful ; and the prospect on entering its beautiful bay is highly 
interesting. Hills covered with wood, and verdant to the 
top, rise on either side; at one extremity of the hay, is seen 
a lively and bustling little town, with an ancient castle 


94 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


towering in ruined grandeur amid modern buildings ; neat 
and well-built bouses encircle the shore like a crescent; and 
beyond these, in the distance, the lofty mountains of Arran 
lift their bare and craggy summits to the sky. There are 
few towns on the Clyde more frequented as a watering 
place. The air is peculiarly mild and salubrious ; and even 
during winter it is visited by valetudinarians, who find the 
most salutary relief from its mild and genial climate. The 
bay has been likened by the too partial enthusiasm of its 
admirers to the bay of Naples ; but it is not without reason 
that the salubrity of the climate has acquired for Rothesay 
the name of the Montpelier of Scotland. 

Indeed so celebrated has it become as a resort for per¬ 
sons afflicted with diseases of the chest and lungs, that 
invalids have been ordered hither even from the south¬ 
ern counties of England. Of late years, too, many me¬ 
dical men, both in Edinburgh and Glasgow, have uni¬ 
formly recommended it as a place of residence for pthi- 
sical patients, whenever medicine has happened to prove 
unavailing; judiciously prefering it to any of the far 
famed places on the Continent, not merely for the salu¬ 
brious qualities of its climate, but for the obvious advan¬ 
tage of keeping up the spirits of the patient, by enabling 
him at all times to enjoy the accustomed society of his 
friends, and the cheering sympathy of those he loves. 
Nor is it on slight grounds that this preference is award¬ 
ed to Rothesay, even when climate alone is taken into the 
account. Several eminent Members of the Faculty, while 
labouring under pulmonary or chest complaints, have 
themselves borne testimony to the salutary effect of its 
mild temperature, by recording the relief they experi¬ 
enced, during all seasons, by living in the genial atmos¬ 
phere of Bute. Among others, the late Dr Dunlop, of 
Glasgow, an accomplished physician, and very amiable 
man, used to descant with eloquent enthusiasm on the 
advantages derived by consumptive and asthmatic patients. 


CLIMATE OF BUTE. 


95 


from a residence in Rothesay. He himself passed the lat¬ 
ter years of his life there, and was so convinced, from 
personal observation, of the beneficial effects of the climate, 
that, from time to time, he gave the result of his experi¬ 
ence to the public through the medium of the journals; 
at least several ingenious communications on the subject 
appeared in a newspaper of that period, and they were 
generally ascribed to his pen. He had, of course, the 
merit of first calling attention to it, and Bute has ever 
since enjoyed high reputation as possessing a climate pe¬ 
culiarly adapted for relieving the consumptive. Several 
others, however, have followed in the track of Dr Dun¬ 
lop, and his original ideas have been invariably confirmed. 
Most of the Glasgow newspapers contain evidence of 
this, in various communications, but we refer more parti¬ 
cularly to the Scots Times , in which the climate of Bute 
was long a favourite topic of discussion. In the begin¬ 
ning of 1830, a correspondent of that journal addresses 
the Editor as follows:— 

“ From experience, as well as observation, during seve¬ 
ral years, I agree with you in thinking that the Island of 
Bute possesses advantages not enjoyed by any of our other 
watering places. It is certain that the atmosphere is a vast 
deal milder, and the temperature more uniformly congenial 
to the human frame, in a state of debility, than any where 
else in Scotland. It wants, indeed, the perpetual serenity 
and purity of a southern sky ; but on this very account 
it produces less of that irritation which is so injurious in 
a very dry atmosphere, and it more^easily assimilates the 
constitution to its circumstances. It wants, too, that de¬ 
licious fragrance, which in Madeira and the wine coun¬ 
tries, perpetually regale our senses; but receiving, as it 
does, from the neighbouring shores, and emitting from 
its surface the sweet effluvia of the heather blossoms, and 
other native flowers, on the mountain heath, which, though 
less powerful, are more salubrious, the invalid has no oc- 


96 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


casion to regret the absence of the richer perfumes of the 
south. I am not sufficiently versant in the subject to war¬ 
rant my attempting to account for Bute’s possessing advan¬ 
tages so peculiar ; but I shall mention a fact, and I need 
hardly add, that at any time one fact is worth a whole 
volume of hypothesis. About twenty or thirty years ago, a 
medical gentleman of the name of Morrison, of great land¬ 
ed property in Aberdeenshire, who had certain pectoral ail¬ 
ments from which he suffered much during the winter sea¬ 
son, concluded from the topographical description of Bute, 
and a bare inspection of its situation on the map, that it 
would be a salutary retreat for him during the winter 
months. He accordingly made the experiment, and with 
complete success. He repeated it for a number of seasons, 
until he felt himself sufficiently recovered to return to his 
estate. This gentleman gave the preference to the inte¬ 
rior of the island, and chose, I believe, latterly, for his 
residence, Stewart Hall, on the west side. I had at that 
time some conversation with him as to what he held to be 
the chief causes of the mildness and salubrity of Bute. 
If I recollect rightly, he said it appeared to him to en¬ 
joy, besides the advantage of being surrounded by that 
great equalizer of temperature, the sea, that of complete 
shelter from the east, north, and north-east winds, which 
were not only broken by the chain of mountains and 
hills intervening on the east coast, but were softened 
by coming frequently in contact with arms of the sea, 
which necessarily stript those winds of much of their as¬ 
perity. He remarked also that Bute itself being of but 
small extent, and for the most part slightly elevated 
above the level of the sea, had advantages similar to 
those of a glen amidst a mountainous country. In this 
opinion, experience teaches me that Dr Morrison was 
correct, for I have frequently, while in walking along 
the east shore, exposed to the full fury of a north-east 
wind, in the very coldest days of winter, felt it as salu- 


RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


97 


tary and refreshing as a southern or westerly breeze on the 
main-land. I think, however, that Bute also owes much 
to the general dryness of its substratum—and to its mo¬ 
derate elevation and variety of hill and dale, over which 
its old fashioned country roads imperceptibly lead vale¬ 
tudinary ramblers, in order to enjoy fresh views of its be¬ 
witching scenery, by which they are beguiled into exercise 
that is at once exhilarating and salubrious.” 

Thus far we have medical authority, founded on personal 
observation and experience. But of all the opinions which 
might be quoted in favour of Bute, as a residence for inva¬ 
lids, perhaps that of the author of Maltese Sketches ,* pub¬ 
lished in 1828 and 1829 in the Scots Times, is the most 
decisive that has been given on the subject. Besides the ad¬ 
vantage of a three years’ residence in the Island, during 
which he carefully noted the effects of the atmosphere on 
his own constitution and complaint, which he knew to be 
consumptive, the writer of those sketches had previously 
tried a voyage up the Mediterranean for the recovery of his 
health—-he had also visited Naples, Rome, Civita Vecchia, 
Florence, Pisa, Leghorn, Malta, and the South of France, 
with the same view; and, after an absence of two years, 
returned to find relief only in Bute. His conviction as to the 
superiority of its climate was thus, no doubt, derived in 
some measure from feeling as well as observation; but that 
the conclusions which he drew in its favour were not alto¬ 
gether arbitrary, may be seen from the following remarks, 
addressed by him to a literary friend, and written only a few 
weeks before his death :— 

RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 

“ It has been often said, that every third or fourth person 
we meet with might be described as in some shape or other 
an invalid; but I would even go a little farther, and ven- 


* Mr Alexander Malcolm, of Glasgow. 
E 




98 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ture to affirm, that if every man were closely questioned 
upon the true state of his health, there would scarcely be 
found one of a hundred who could aver, that he was alto¬ 
gether free from bodily infirmity. No information, there¬ 
fore, can be more valuable than that which may contribute 
in any degree to the alleviation or cure of so much indivi¬ 
dual suffering. 

f£ In what I am now about to communicate, to you chiefly 
with that view, I do not profess to give any thing either 
exclusively new or peculiarly entertaining ; hut I think I 
am right when I remark, that among all the learned and able 
persons who have written on the subject, either recom¬ 
mending to invalids particular places of residence abroad, or 
showing that a climate, not less beneficial than any other, is 
to be found at home, no one has ventured to assert, that 
there is such a climate in any part of Scotland . My prin¬ 
cipal object then is to show, that there is, in point of fact , a 
place of that description ; and that the place I allude to is 
the Island of Bute. 

“ But before proceeding to explain the reasons which have 
induced me to form this judgment, I shall take a brief sur¬ 
vey of the opinions which have been promulgated respecting 
some of the other favourite places referred to by Dr Clark, 
in his judicious volume on climate. A new edition of that 
work was lately published, and it may be understood to 
contain all the latest and most valuable information to be 
found on the subject. England is of course the first field 
of the Doctor’s inquiries ; and he divides the most tem¬ 
perate portions of it into two districts, viz. the south 
and the south-west coasts. According to this division, 
we have Hastings, Brighton, Chichester, Gosport, South¬ 
ampton, and the Isle of Wight, on the south. The ge¬ 
neral character of the climate of that district is, humidi¬ 
ty and heaviness, many parts of the plain being remark¬ 
able for febrile diseases, accompanied with agueish symp¬ 
toms ; but at Hastings, Brighton, and the Isle of Wight, 


RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


99 


the climate is said to be peculiarly mild, and consequent¬ 
ly beneficial in many pectoral complaints—Hastings, espe¬ 
cially, is completely sheltered from the north and north¬ 
east winds by hills ; and the walks there, besides, are de¬ 
scribed by Dr Clark as admirably suited to the recreation of 
invalids. Yet it is a remarkable fact, that during the autumn, 
and even down to December, the temperature of Brighton 
is found to be milder, and more favourable for people who 
labour under a relaxed state of the system. The air of 
Br ighton, indeed, is at all seasons elastic, dry, and bracing— 
At Undercliff, again, which is situated on the south-east 
coast of the Isle of Wight, the air is said to be still more 
mild and salubrious than it is at either Hastings or Brighton. 
Dr Lempriere says, f Snow is rarely seen, and frosts are 
only partially known here, while it is sheltered by terraces 
four to six and seven feet high, from the north, north-west, 
and west winds. Here also the myrtle, geranium, and 
other exotics flourish luxuriantly, and the walks are easy and 
extensive.’ The climate of Southampton, on the other hand, 
is said to be the most variable of all; and I can testify from my 
own experience during a short residence there in the spring 
months, that it must be the most pernicious place in England 
for persons with weak lungs. Then on the south-west coast 
w r e have Tor Quay, Dawlish, Sidmouth, Kingsbridge, Sal- 
combe, and Hams (the Montpelier of Huxham). Of all these 
places Tor Quay is said to be the best, perhaps because it is 
protected from the north and east winds. But not one of 
the situations which have yet been named seem to be com¬ 
parable to Penzance—I mean for a mild and equable tem¬ 
perature. Here the mean annual temperature is 52.16, or 
1.77 above that of London ; but it is 5^ degrees warmer in 
winter, 2 colder in summer, 1 warmer in spring, and 2 £ j, 
warmer in autumn. ‘ This equal distribution of heat,’ says 
Dr Clark, 4 throughout the year at Penzance, which we 
have compared so advantageously with that of London, is 
still more striking when compared with that of the south of 


100 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


Europe. Madeira is the only climate, perhaps, superior in 
this respect.’ Penzance is only exceptionable on account of 
its high winds and heavy rains; for it has been ascertained, 
that just double the quantity of rain falls there that falls du- 
ing the year in London. 

“ I shall now follow the Doctor to France, which he 
divides in the same manner as he does England, consider¬ 
ing the climate first of the S.E., and secondly of the S.W. 
portion of that country. Provence, however, is the main 
field of his observation, and he comprehends here the differ¬ 
ent towns of Hyeres, Toulon, Marseilles, Montpelier, Aix, 
Nismes, and Avignon. The winter temperature of Pro¬ 
vence is said to he 1^ degrees above the west of England, 
while it is distributed very unequally. The difference of 
the mean of warmest and coldest is 35—in the S. W. of 
England 22—in the S. E. of France 30—and in Madeira 
only 14. Here also rain falls only 67 days, w'hile in Lon¬ 
don the number is 178. The general characteristic, there¬ 
fore, of the air in this climate is, that it is dry, hot, and ir¬ 
ritating. We learn from some of the French writers, that 
in 1709 the ports of Toulon and Marseilles were frozen 
over; but after the experience of the winter of 1829-30, there 
will be no occasion to go so far back for proofs that even 
in the most favourable places of the South of Europe that 
season may occasionally exhibit all the hideous features 
of the severest hyperborean sky. In this part of France, 
besides, it appears that the range of temperature is much 
wider than our own, being, according to most accurate 
calculations, three to one for the year, and two to one for 
the day. On the subject of the far-famed climate of Mont¬ 
pelier, Dr Clark is exceedingly brief, judging wisely, no 
doubt, that it was useless to add any thing to the bitter ac¬ 
count of it which has been transmitted to us by Smollett; 
but it is also remarkable, that M. Murat, in his medical to¬ 
pography for 1810, states, on the authority of Fournier, that 
the number of deaths at the Hotel Dieu, in 1763, was 154, 


RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


101 


of whom 55 died of pulmonary consumption. This was 
more than a third. Dr Clark is equally brief in his obser¬ 
vations on the climate of the S. W. of France. He speaks 
chiefly of Pau, the capital of the department of the Lower 
Pyrenees, and he describes the air as ‘ calm, moderate, and 
cold.’ He adds, however, that the sun is powerful in winter, 
and that the rains are of short duration. The mildness of the 
spring and its little liability to wdnds, render it favourable to 
chronic affections of the larynx, trachia, and bronchia, or 
chronic affections of the mucous membranes. 

(c I cannot here enter minutely into a review of the va¬ 
luable remarks which Dr Clark has published upon the 
climate of Italy and Madeira. On that of Italy, and the 
Mediterranean generally, I have given you the results 
of my own experience in former communications; and 
Madeira, you are aware, has been the subject of discus¬ 
sion in many recent publications. But to bring the whole 
into one view, I transcribe the following clear summary 
of Dr Clark’s conclusions as to the benefit likely to be 
derived from climate in attempting the cure of consump¬ 
tion 

“ ‘ When removal to a warm climate is decided on, the 
next subject which naturally presents itself for considera¬ 
tion, regards the selection of that which is most suitable 
to the case. The question has been often put to me— 
Which is the best climate ? The truth is, no one climate 
or situation is the best in all cases. In the first part of 
this work I have given the character of the climate of 
the different places resorted to by invalids; and have en¬ 
deavoured to draw a comparative view of their respective 
merits , and to this I beg to refer the reader. With re¬ 
gard to the climate of the South of France and Italy, I 
may here observe, that for consumptive invalids, in whom 
there exists much sensibility to harsh and keen winds, 
and more especially if the immediate vicinity of the sea is 
known to disagree with them—Rome or Pisa are the best 


102 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


situations for a winter residence. When, on the contrary, 
the patient labours under a languid or oppressed circulation, 
with a relaxed habit, and a disposition to congestion or to 
haemorrhage, rather than to inflammation, and, more es-. 
pecially, where the sea air is known by experience to 
agree with the individual—Nice deserves the preference. 
In cases complicated with gastric irritation, however, Nice 
is an improper residence, its climate being decidedly ini¬ 
mical to that state. The climate of Hyeres may be con¬ 
sidered similar to that of Nice in this respect. The influ¬ 
ence of such a morbid condition of stomach in modifying 
all other diseases, is sufficient to claim for it the chief 
consideration in deciding which climate deserves to be 
preferred. Judging, however, from experience, I should 
say, that where this state of the stomach exists, a climate 
which disagrees with it will do the patient little good, 
whatever may be the other disease under which he la¬ 
bours.’ 

44 4 In conclusion,’ adds Dr Clark, 4 I would submit the 
following corollaries as a summary of my views regarding 
the nature and causes of consumption, and its treatment, 
more especially as connected with the effects of climate:— 

44 4 1st, That tubercles in the lungs constitute the essen¬ 
tial character and immediate cause of consumption. 

44 4 2d, That tubercles originate in a morbid condition 
of the general system. 

44 4 3 d, That such a state of the system frequently has for 
its cause hereditary predisposition ; in other instances it is 
induced by various functional disorders ; while in a third 
class of cases, (perhaps the most numerous,) it arises from 
the conjoint effect of these causes. 

44 4 4 th, That consumption is to be prevented only by 
such means as shall counteract the hereditary predispo¬ 
sition (where it exists), and maintain the healthy condition 
of the various functions from infancy to the full develope- 
ment of the body. 


RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


103 


“ ‘ 5th, That in the general disorder of the health which 
leads to tubercular cachexy—in tubercular cachexy it¬ 
self—and even when tubercles are formed in the lungs, 
unattended with much constitutional irritation, a residence 
in a mild climate will prove beneficial; and also in cases 
of chronic consumption, at any stage, when the lungs are 
not extensively implicated in tubercular disease, and when 
the system does not sympathise much with the local dis¬ 
order. 

“ ‘ 6th, That in cases of confirmed consumption, in 
which the lungs are extensively diseased, and when hec¬ 
tic fever, emaciation, and the other symptoms which cha¬ 
racterise its advanced stages, are present, change of cli¬ 
mate can be of no service, and may even accelerate the 
progress of the disease. 

“ ‘ 1th, That climate, to be effectual in any case, re¬ 
quires to be continued for a considerable time, in most 
cases for years.’ 

“ Such are the conclusions at which this judicious me¬ 
dical author arrives, after discussing in all its various 
phases, the subject of climate for the consumptive. 

“ Having thus brought under review the opinions which 
appear to be entertained of all the most remarkable places 
of resort for pulmonary patients, I shall recur to my ori¬ 
ginal purpose, and endeavour to shew that there is at 
least one place at home which possesses, even in point of 
climate, all the advantages of a residence either in Eng¬ 
land or in foreign countries. I have long been of the 
opinion expressed by Dr Clark, that it is folly to send 
such invalids abroad in any stage of their disease ; but I 
am now disposed to speak still more decidedly on the 
subject, and to assert, that no measure can be more in¬ 
expedient or fallacious. Experience has shewn, that this 
disease runs a more rapid course in hot than in colder 
climates, and that in Italy particularly, the patient seldom 
survives four, five, or six months. 


104 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


“ The Island of Bute is situated nearly in the latitude of 
Glasgow, and the beautiful bay in which Rothesay lies is 
surrounded on every side, except the east, by lofty hills. 
Although the town itself is rather exposed, yet there are 
lines of houses extending along the west and south sides 
of the bay, for nearly a mile in each direction, which are 
completely sheltered from the prevailing winds. This 
favoured spot is seldom visited by any severe or lasting 
frosts, and the prevailing winds for at least nine months 
of the year, are the south and south-west. The east and 
north-east winds are only felt in Rothesay during a few 
weeks of spring, and even at that time the inhabitants on 
the south side of the bay (the situation usually recom¬ 
mended to valetudinarians) are finely sheltered from the 
severer blasts by a ridge of high hills behind. If the other 
side be without these advantages, there seems to be less 
hazard of damp there ; for the sun shines upon the houses, 
either behind or in front, the whole day ; and, to shew 
that the climate in that quarter, is not less genial on the 
whole, I deem it only necessary to mention, that in the 
garden of Mr Clark, which is guarded against the north¬ 
east blast by a common wall, the myrtle, the geranium, 
and several varieties of the rose, thrive in all seasons, and 
are never injured by any severity of the weather. 

From a register which has been regularly kept by Mr 
Thom, of the cotton works in Rothesay, I am enabled to 
give the following Table of the extreme degrees of heat 
and cold in the Island for the last six years, taken at 9 a.m. 
in the open air :— 


1898 .... 

Heat, 

68 

Cold. 

26 

1824_ 

04 

24 

1825__. 

_68 

29 

1826__ 


24 

1827_ 

60 

24 

1 ^ M 9 

68 ... 

29 




RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


105 


And the medium temperature of every month of 1828., 
may be stated thus :— 


J anuary. 
February 
March 
Aprils 
May.. 
June., 




41 

41 

44 

46 

53 

58 


August—---- „60 

September____57 

October-.-,51 

November_47 

December-46 


“ During 1829-30 the cold was more intense, and there 
was a heavier fall of snow, even in Bute, than perhaps ever 
were known before. The mercury was so low as 20 or 
21, but the range of temperature here, as at Penzance, is 
not nearly so extensive as it is at any time on the main 
land. Bute may be to Glasgow what Penzance is to Lon¬ 
don throughout the year. 1 have not the means of ascer¬ 
taining the precise difference in degrees at the different 
seasons, but I know that on one day of January last the 
thermometer was 6 degrees lower in Rothesay than it was 
at the same moment in Glasgow; and I should sup¬ 
pose that in summer, the temperature of Bute may be the 
same number of degrees colder, in consequence of the 
ordinary influence of sea air at that period. But what 
appears to me to distinguish this island so much from 
other places, and to enhance its value as a residence for 
invalids, is its almost total exemption from those heavy 
fogs which hang over the main land during frosty wea¬ 
ther, excluding all sunshine, and making the air equally 
cold, dense, and unwholesome. In the Island of Bute, 
these fogs may be said to be altogether unknown, al¬ 
though they can be distinctly discerned on the opposite 
coast; arrested, apparently in their progress at the mouth 
of the bay, as if through the agency of some secret Hy- 
geian power, for which no meteorologist has yet been 
able to account. Hence, also, snow has rarely been 
known to remain on the ground more than twenty-four 
hours at a time, and strangers visiting the Island in win- 

E 2 





106 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ter have frequently expressed their astonishment at the 
singular but delightful contrast exhibited within the dis¬ 
tance of a few miles ; a contrast which presented green 
fields and roses in full blow, smiling around them, after 
they had just quitted the bleak and dismal country of 
fogs and hoar frost. f Here/ said a poetical visitor, one 
day after his arrival, f is another Arcadia, where an eter¬ 
nal spring seems to reign; while there we find nothing 
but the emblems of winter in all their most appalling 
forms.’ 

“ With some people the Isle of Man is thought an eli¬ 
gible residence for invalids on account of the mildness of 
its climate. But it has so many disadvantages, in other 
respects, that it can never be judiciously recommended as 
a residence for the consumptive. For the sake of compa¬ 
rison I shall add the following general state of the wea¬ 
ther in that Island for the year ending 31st December, 
1825; as taken at Douglas, at 9 o’clock, a. m., the ther¬ 
mometer in a northern exposure, always out:— 


182 5 . 

Med. Ther. 

Weather. 


A.M. 

P.M. 

No. of Days. 




R. 

s. 

F. 

January---- 

46 

43 

11 

•a* 

20 

February___ 

39 

40 

11 

2 

15 

March ——-- 

44A 

41 

1 7 

1 

23 

y) n 1 

47 A 

45i 

9 

** 

21 


58| 

48i 

10 

** 

21 

j U 11C. 

58 

54 1 

12 


18 

July-- 

64;, 

59* 

2 


29 

August-- 

64 

59 

15 


16 

September 

63 

59 

16 


14 

October___ 

52 

52i 

20 

1 

10 

November __ 

421 

43 

19 

1 

10 

December. - , rr „ 

40 

38 

13 

O 


M ed-- 

5]i 

48,i 

145 

7 

213 


Highest State of the Thermometer. 

A. M. 

P. M. 

68 

Lowest... 


28 




























RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


107 


fC Although the temperature of the Isle of Man may 
thus appear to be somewhat milder than that of Bute; 
yet the climate there, as well as at Penzance, and other 
places in the south and west of England, must be always 
objectionable in consequence of its humidity. And I am 
inclined to think, that a long course of wet weather must 
be infinitely more injurious to invalids of almost every 
description than a greater degree of cold, attended by a 
pure atmosphere and a clear sky. 

ff It will not, of course, be inferred from any of the ob¬ 
servations which I have been induced to hazard on this 
important subject, that the most fortunate choice of cli¬ 
mate will ever be beneficial without due attention to Diet 
and Exercise * With regard to diet, perhaps our own ex- 


* “ Since my return to Scotland, after a tour in pursuit of health, 
through some parts of Italy, and the South of France, 1 have resided 
chiefly in Bute. Shortly after my arrival at Rothesay, I was introduced to 
a gentleman well advanced in life, who, after hearing me explain some 
of the symptoms of my disease, mentioned that, about twenty years be¬ 
fore, he himself had been affected by the same complaint; but by steadily 
following out a particular course, prescribed for him by his medical ad¬ 
viser, he had gradually subdued all his ailments, and now enjoyed per¬ 
fect health. He added, that his case had been generally regarded, at 
the time, as a hopeless one, and then showed the following description 
of it, as stated to him in writing by his physician, Dr Jas. Hamilton of 
Edinburgh:—‘ Sir—The opportunity which I have had of fully con¬ 
sidering your ailment, has enabled me to the best of my judgment, to 
ascertain that it embraces two sorts of symptoms—the one of a pectoral 
nature, the other more properly stomachic. To the former, as of greatest 
importance, the first attention is due. They do not appear to me to in¬ 
volve as yet, very dangerous consequences. Hopes may therefore be 
entertained of their favourable termination. The symptoms to which I 
allude are cough, and stiffness in the breast; hurried respiration on 
moving quickly or ascending an acclivity; or on speaking or reading 
much ; expectoration of a thick matter in the morning, sometimes 
mixed with blood; tendency to perspiration ; with weakness, loss of 
flesh, and irregularity of the pulse.’ Some general instructions are 
then given by Dr H. with regard to diet, which is required to be a due 
portion of both animal and vegetable food, but plain, light, and mode¬ 
rately nourishing, and cooked in the simplest manner; and he con- 



108 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


perience is our best physician. The diet which is found 
to be salutary and agreeable to one, may be very perni¬ 
cious and revolting to another. We learn from Tacitus 
(Annals 5.), that Tiberius used to laugh at all who, 


eludes by saying, that a glass or two of wine may be superadded. But 
what seems to have contributed mainly to the convalescence of this gen¬ 
tleman was, the constant use of the cold bath at all seasons, beginning 
of course, gradually, by sprinkling first of all the extremities, and after¬ 
wards the chest and back with vinegar and salt water, until the whole 
body became steeled, as it were, against the consequences of the coldest 
application; the great object of the general treatment being to unite 
firmness as opposed to relaxation or delicacy, and coolness as opposed to 
heat or irritability in the whole constitution. 

44 This, I believe, is the entire secret of the system pursued by Dr 
Stewart of Erskine in all pulmonary complaints, and by means of which, 
though not a medical man by profession, he has acquired so much repu¬ 
tation. Dr Sanders of Edinburgh, I have been told, however, denies 
the claim of Dr Stewart to originality in this matter entirely, and 
states, that the theory was first broached by him (Dr S.) in an 
Essay which he read in a debating society at Edinburgh, thirty years 
ago, when all his views were opposed by Dr Stewart, so that if there 
be any merit in this new treatment at all, it must belong to him. But 
the truth is, there is no originality to contend about, for the simple 
position, that cold bathing must be efficacious in pulmonary complaints, 
is as old as Celsus. His words are, ‘In omni tussi utilis est natatio.’ 
Cardan commends bathing in fresh and cold water, and advises all 
who wish to live long to use it; for it agrees with all ages and com¬ 
plexions— * * * 4 Frigidis aequis saepe lavare debent; nulli aetati cum sit in- 
congrua, calidis imprimis utilis.’ Dr Smollett also practised it in his 
own case, for which, I believe, he was censured by all the eminent me¬ 
dical practitioners of that period, although he cites many instances of 

cure performed by the same treatment. In one of his letters he says, 

4 Our acquaintance, Dr C., while he actually spit up matter, and rode 
out every day for his life, led his horse to water at the pond in Hyde 
Park, one cold frosty morning, and the animal, which happened to be 
of a hot constitution, plunged himself and his master over head and ears 
into the water. The poor doctor hastened home almost dead with fear, 
and was put to bed in the apprehension of a new imposthume, instead of 
which he found himself exceedingly recruited in his spirits, and his ap¬ 
petite much mended. I advised him to take the hint, and go into the 
cold bath every morning.’ Smollett also says in the same letter, 4 1 saw 
one of the guides at Bath, the stoutest fellow among them, who re- 




RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


109 


after thirty years of age, would take counsel of others 
about diet; and Cicero advises, that we ought so to mo¬ 
derate ourselves that we have sencctutem in juveniute et 
in senectute juventutem. The best way undoubtedly is to 
feed sparingly on one or two dishes at most, or as Seneca 
remarks, ventrem bene moratum ; to choose one of many 
dishes and feed on that alone. 

<c Of all the kinds of Exercise usually recommended to 
Pthysical patients, both ancient and modern physicians 
prescribe walking or riding on horseback, as more salu¬ 
tary than any other. Galen, like the late President Jef¬ 
ferson, seems to prefer walking or labour till the body 
be ready to sweat and roused up— ad ruborem non ad su - 
dorem. He also commends ludum parvce pilce, or ball 
playing, either with the hand or racket, f as it exercises 
every part of the body/ This game, by the bye, is even 
mentioned by Homer, Herodotus and Pliny, as in great 
repute among the ancients. But to give any precise rule 
for invalids is, perhaps, impossible, as the quantum of ex¬ 
ercise will always depend on the circumstances or situa¬ 
tions of individuals. The use of dumb bells has been 
much in vogue of late years, and it may be observed that 
there seems to have been some such means of exercise 
practised even in the days of Addison. f When I was seven 
years younger than I am at present (says that elegant 
writer), I used to employ a more laborious diversion 
which I learnt from a Latin treatise of exercises, that is 
written with great erudition. It is there called the fight¬ 
ing with a man’s own shadow; and consists in the bran¬ 
dishing of two short sticks grasped in each hand, and 


covered from the last stage of consumption, by going into the King’s 
bath contrary to the express injunction of his doctor. He said if he 
must die, the sooner the better, as he had nothing left for his subsist¬ 
ence. Instead of immediate death he found instant ease, and continued 
mending every day until his health was entirely re-established.” 



no 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


loaded with plugs of lead at either end. This opens the 
chest, exercises the limbs, and gives a man all the plea¬ 
sure of boxing without the blows. I could wish that se¬ 
veral learned men would lay out that time which they 
employ in controversies and disputes about nothing, in 
this way of fighting with their own shadows. It might 
conduce very much to evaporate the spleen which makes 
them uneasy to the public as well as to themselves. 

“ Exercise in the open air, however, is unquestionably 
the most conducive to health, and walking or riding on 
horseback, should therefore be sedulously practised by 
every invalid who entertains any hope of amending his 
bodily condition. 

“ Having thus pointed out the peculiar advantages 
of Bute as a residence for invalids, in consequence of 
the salubrity of its climate, I shall briefly refer to those 
other advantages which result from its local position, 
and from the state of society in the Island. As Rothe¬ 
say is situated about half way betwixt Glasgow and In¬ 
verary, there is a constant communication by means of 
steam vessels every day of the week, with the main land- 
This presents innumerable opportunities for taking cheap 
and healthful excursions by sea to a thousand interest¬ 
ing spots, lying within a range of several hundred miles 
of coast, along the richest portions of the West of Scot¬ 
land. Accordingly, if health is to be obtained by easy 
and agreeable exercise in the open air, and if by divert¬ 
ing the mind from preying upon itself, the cure of an 
invalid is promoted, nowhere can there be such frequent 
opportunities of accomplishing these objects than at this 
watering place. An excursion, in fact, might be planned 
for every day of the year, and accomplished, too, with 
unequalled facility—without anxiety, without fatigue, 
and almost without cost. So much for the advantages 
that may be derived from mere locality by a residence in 
the Island of Bute. 


RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


Ill 


‘ f Then with regard to society, perhaps nowhere is its 
thousand and one grades to be found so curiously and dis¬ 
tinctly marked as in Rothesay. From the peer to the pea¬ 
sant—from the priest to the philosopher—from the lawyer 
to the merchant—from the man of science and letters down 
to the ignorant boor. In short, from the courtier to the 
clown, from the votary of frivolity and fashion to the fol¬ 
lowers of plain sense—every species of human character 
may be found in Bute. Thus, let a man’s disposition and 
habits be what they may, he will find their counterpart in 
the society of Rothesay, and if he only looks to the man¬ 
sion of the Marquis of Bute on the one hand, and Kean’s 
celebrated cottage on the other, or contrast the solemn and 
exemplary gravity exhibited in the stately residence of the 
Rev. Mr Denoon, seated upon a hill, with that curious ca¬ 
binet of gossip, and good humour, the shop of the faceti¬ 
ous little woman, Mary M £ Corkindale, in the centre of the 
town, he will at once admit that it is unnecessary to go 
farther for some of the most striking varieties of life. 
Doubtless it cannot be averred that there are no petits 
desagremens to be found in the society of Bute. But in 
truth, there are none which may not be said to be pecu¬ 
liar to every watering place in the country, from John 
O’Groats’ to the Land’s End. In fact it only exhibits in 
some of its features the same absurdities that are charac¬ 
teristic, I believe, of all small communities, and such as 
have afforded endless food for ridicule and censure, in all 
ages, and in all countries. Washington Irving’s account 
of the Society of Little Britain, is applicable, probably to 
nine-tenths of all the small towns in the world, and in 
several particulars it corresponds to that of Bute. Such 
are the baneful fruits of Idleness. f It is certain (says 
one of our most eloquent writers), that any wild wish or 
vain imagination never takes such firm possession of the 
mind as when it is found empty and unoccupied. The 
old peripatetic principle, that nature abhors a vacuum. 


112 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


may be properly applied to the intellect, which will em¬ 
brace any thing, however absurd or criminal, rather than 
be wholly without an object. Perhaps every man may 
date the predominance of those desires that disturb his 
life and contaminate his conscience from some unhappy 
hour when too much leisure exposed him to their incur¬ 
sions ; for he has lived with little observation either on 
himself or others who does not know that to be idle is to 
be vicious.’ In quoting this passage, I am far from in¬ 
sinuating that it is generally applicable to the native in¬ 
habitants of the island. Though they certainly are not 
more exempt from faults than others, it must be admit¬ 
ted that idleness cannot be ranked among the number. 
On the contrary, they are an exceedingly industrious and 
indefatigable race; and the Rothesay people, in particu¬ 
lar, when prompted by the stimulus of gain, will, in the 
pursuit of it, defy competition, and, ceteris paribus , out¬ 
strip those of every other class or condition in the em¬ 
pire. When I allude then to the pernicious effects of 
idleness, it is only meant to embrace that portion of so¬ 
ciety in Bute, aptly denominated ‘birds of passage’— 
those who are drawn thither by motives either frivolous 
or equivocal, and who merely seek to enjoy, upon c slen¬ 
der means’ a little spurious notoriety, during the sum¬ 
mer months, in this Ultima Thule of fashionable life. 

“ If the popinjay class of persons, just now referred 
to, be a very pestilent race in Bute, there is also another 
class, by no means so conspicuous to be sure, but not a 
whit less offensive or ridiculous—I mean those stiff, starch, 
pigheaded aborigines of the island, who obstinately en¬ 
tertain a most preposterous jealousy of strangers, who 
rail with stupid malignity at the regular influx of new in¬ 
habitants as an evil, and who thus, in spite of reason and 
common sense, quarrel, as it were, with the very means 
by which they are daily and hourly enriched. Happily 
for Rothesay, this foolish generation of the pigheads and 


RESIDENCE FOR INVALIDS. 


113 


dunderpates is fast wearing away, while, as a necessary 
consequence, the contracted spirit and ignorant prejudi¬ 
ces of the olden time are beginning to disappear. In pro¬ 
portion as the population of the place increases, this change 
will be still more advantageous and complete, since intel¬ 
ligence and liberality will be much more widely diffused; 
and, therefore, as it is now generally reputed to be the 
most healthful, so it is to be hoped that ere long it will 
also become the most social and polished summer resi¬ 
dence on the Clyde.’' 

Such were the characteristics of Bute and its little ca¬ 
pital, Rothesay, in 1830, as sketched by the hand of one 
who was intimately acquainted with its many-coloured 
society. There is little required to complete the picture, 
or to recommend it with better effect as a residence for 
invalids. It may be mentioned, however, that nowhere 
in Scotland is there a watering-place better supplied with 
medical skill, or that affords superior facilities for obtain¬ 
ing the most prompt and efficient aid from medical science. 
The physicians on the spot are men of unquestionable abi¬ 
lity, but when necessity requires it, the auxiliary advice 
of very eminent Members of the Faculty can, at all times, 
be obtained either from Greenock, Glasgow, or Edin¬ 
burgh, in the course of a few hours. 

Rothesay was erected into a royal burgh by charter from 
Robert III., dated January, 1400, which was confirmed by 
James VI., in a charter of Novodamus, dated February, 
1584. As already observed, it is not of great extent, but 
since the introduction of steam navigation it has been much 
enlarged, and is still increasing. There are several well 
built streets, to which the taste displayed by the shopkeepei'3 
in their windows, gives a very cheerful and respectable ap¬ 
pearance. An extensive cotton spinning establishment has 
existed here for many years ; and it is worthy of remark, 
that the first cotton spun by machinery in Scotland was 
at this Rothesay manufactory. The ingenious Mr Thom, 


114 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


of Ascog, so well known for his talents in practical hydrau¬ 
lics, is now a principal partner in the concern, and has long 
been its chief manager. 

ROTHESAY CASTLE. 

This fine relique of the olden time is situated in the 
centre of the town. It consists of two portions of very dif¬ 
ferent appearance, and obviously erected in very distant 
ages. The most ancient portion consists of a circular court, 
one hundred and thirty-eight feet in diameter, surrounded 
by a wall eight feet thick and seventeen feet high, with 
battlements at top. This wall is flanked by four round 
towers, placed at nearly equal distances ; and the whole has 
at one time been surrounded by a wet ditch of considerable 
breadth, and about fifteen feet deep. The newer portion, 
which was built by Robert II., consists of an oblong keep 
three stories in height, in front of the ancient gateway, and 
projecting into the ditch. The entrance to this building 
was in the north front, and it appears to have been approach¬ 
ed by a drawbridge. In this keep are the royal apartments 
where Robert II. and Robert III. occasionally resided. The 
situation of the hall can be still pointed out, though much 
of the building has fallen down ; and the room or rather 
closet in which Robert III. died, is shown in the south-east 
corner of the building. This was the good but too gentle 
tempered monarch, so graphically pourtrayed in Sir Walter 
Scott’s “ Fair Maid of Perth.” 

In the circular court yard stands the chapel, which is in 
the pointed style of architecture; and the font and basin 
for holy water, still remain. Traces of other buildings have 
been discovered in the court yard ; one of which seems to 
have been the armourer’s workshop ; the others were pro¬ 
bably a guard-room and barracks for the garrison. It is not 
known when the older portion was erected ; but it could not 
be earlier than the twelfth century. 



KOTII SAY CASTLE 



INVERARY CASTLE 



F.nJ^ by tsrny Si Son 










































































MOUNT STUART. 


115 


This castle is first mentioned in history in 1228, when it 
was besieged by Husbac, or Uspac, whom Haco, king of 
Norway, had made regulus of the Hebrides. It was taken, 
and a Steward of Scotland is said to have been killed in its 
defence. It was again taken by the Norwegians in their 
expedition against Scotland, in 1263, which ended in the 
battle of Largs. During the reign of John Baliol, it appears 
to have been in the possession of the English, but when 
Bruce took Perth, the terror of the example, caused it as 
well as several others to be surrendered. 

Edward Baliol took possession of it in 1334, and strength¬ 
ened its fortifications ; he appointed Allan de Lile governor, 
whom he had previously made Sheriff of Bute. The inha¬ 
bitants, however, hearing of the success of the young Stew¬ 
ard, afterwards Robert II., in taking Dunoon Castle, rose 
upon the English, killed the governor, de Lile, whose head 
they presented to the Steward. John Gilbert, who was de¬ 
puty governor, being taken prisoner, changed sides, and caused 
the castle to surrender. 

The castle was inhabited up to 1685, and was often the 
residence of the ancestors of the Marquis of Bute, who had 
been made hereditary keepers. In that year, however, du¬ 
ring the ineffectual descent on England by the Duke of 
Monmouth, and on Scotland by the Duke of Argyle, it was 
taken possession of by the latter. After spending consider¬ 
able time in Bute to little purpose, he plundered the town 
of Rothesay, and the castle, of which he also destroyed the 
doors and windows. It was afterwards burned by his brother, 
and ever since it has been allowed to fall into ruins. A good 
antiquarian account of it was published a few years ago, by 
Mr Mackinlay, of the Customs, at Rothesay. 

MOUNT STUART. 

Among the objects of interest or curiosity which the 
Island of Bute presents to a stranger, the patrimonial 


116 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


seat of the noble Bute family is certainly by far the most 
deserving of attention. It is not indeed either a very 
splendid or very ancient structure, nor even, in point of 
convenience, can it be deemed by any means worthy to 
have been once the abode of a Prime Minister of Britain. 
Nevertheless, there are various circumstances connected 
with it, which must ever render it a delightful resort 
both for the tasteful and the curious ; and on this ac¬ 
count are we induced to quote the narrative of an excur¬ 
sion to it in 1828, by an invalid, then resident in Rothesay, 
who, under the apt title of “ A Day in Bute,” thus de¬ 
scribes his visit in a letter to a friend :—“ My Dear ****— 
You know something of the indolent but invigorating 
pleasures of sea-bathing quarters. The morning’s listless 
loitering on the beach till the hour of nine ring us in to 
breakfast, sometimes varied in the instance of the more 
robust and hardy by a dip in the briny deep—the per¬ 
fect idle seriousness and delight with which the excur¬ 
sion for the day is projected at the breakfast table— 
the noon day’s walk—the evening’s stroll—the gossip¬ 
ing visit—all are and must be familiar to you as to me. 
Why then prate about them, you may ask ? Why, just to 
tell you that on an evening of last week it was f in deep 
divan determined’ that on the following day our family 
party should visit Mount Stuart, the seat of the Mar¬ 
quis of Bute, and thus to introduce our trip to your most 
sapient and august notice. The morning shone auspici¬ 
ously for our purpose, and as it had been previously fixed 
that we should proceed by water, we were soon on board, 
skirting the shore of the Island. In a very short time, 
also, with spirits light and tempers gay, we were thread¬ 
ing the woods of Mount Stuart. 

“ The baronial house of Mount Stuart has no great 
antiquity to boast of; nor are there any of those associa¬ 
tions connected with its history, which frequently render 
spots deeply interesting that would otherwise remain un- 


MOUNT STUART. 


117 


known. Its extent alone distinguishes it; for no archi¬ 
tectural beauty is to be found in its unadorned walls. It 
appears to be not older than the beginning of the last 
century. Placed in a lawn studded with noble trees, and 
gently sloping to the sea, it has an air of sweet and settled 
serenity, combined with a certain degree of magnificence, 
which cannot fail to please the eye of taste. The lofty and 
wide spreading beeches and plane trees which surround 
it, while they add grandeur to the park, give a sylvan 
character to the whole scene, covering from the view the 
house itself, except seaward, in their umbrageous rich¬ 
ness, among which it appears “ bosomed high in tufted 
trees.” The ocean also seems as it were to skirt the lawn 
with liquid silver; thus combining the various features 
of the soft, the rich, the grand in landscape, and conferring 
on Mount Stuart a charm not often found in natural 
scenery. Indeed this seat possesses many beauties pecu¬ 
liar to itself, and the whole may be pronounced truly 
picturesque. By the bye, the phrase here applied, I sus¬ 
pect, is far more frequently used than understood, and I 
need hardly remind you that our great lexicographer has 
omitted it. It has, however, been explained most satis¬ 
factorily by an elegant English writer, to mean ‘ such 
scenery as a spectator would wish to be perpetuated by 
painting/ Amidst the luxuriance of the park scenery of 
Mount Stuart, to contemplate the ocean, that highway 
of commerce, with its varied vehicles, affording a never- 
ending source of interest, is to the student of nature, a 
treat of the most delightful kind. In its changing as¬ 
pects of repose and turbulence, the sea, indeed, is an 
object at once beautiful and sublime; for, whether be¬ 
held in the mirror-like stillness of a summer’s noon, when 
it conveys refreshing coolness to the scene, or viewed in 
the wild magnificence of a winter’s storm, when the angry 
waves, beating on the rocks which oppose a barrier to 
their inroads, keep dire harmony with the howlings of 


118 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


the wind, it is still an object pregnant with interest to 
every eye which looks abroad on nature awake to all her 
charms. 

“ But I must hasten to the interior of the Mansion, and 
to the purpose of this letter, which was to bring under 
your notice one or two of the pictures in the Marquis’s 
collection. The house is not properly a skew-house, nor 
do I notice it as such; indeed when I visited it on this 
occasion with our friends, I had no intention of giving 
any account of our inspection ; but as I am anxious to in¬ 
troduce to your observation one picture of great excel¬ 
lence, I have been led to trespass on your indulgence. I 
speak entirely from the recollections and impressions made 
at the time of my visit, and not from notes taken on 
the spot, which will account for my passing over several 
of the pictures in the house, as well as for the meagreness 
of my details. The house indeed, which can only be 
looked on as a marine residence, is not of that class which 
leads a visitor to expect to find in it any pictures of great 
excellence or of high value. But as we know that the 
noble Marquis has at least one good collection in Eng¬ 
land—I mean at his seat of Luton in Bedfordshire—a col¬ 
lection which has to boast of a splendid specimen from 
the hands of the severe and sublime Salvator Rosa, we 
must not complain if we do not meet with many speci¬ 
mens of his taste or magnificence at Bute. The picture 
thus referred to is one of the few splendid productions 
in this country of the great master I have named;—it is 
known under the name of the Wounded Soldier . 

<f Though the Mount Stuart collection consists entire¬ 
ly of portraits, it must be admitted that they are, with 
few exceptions, respectable specimens of art. There are 
none to offend the eye, as in some of the houses of our 
nobility, where many miserable daubs, miscalled portraits 
are to be found, with faces staring out of the canvas as if 
it were in mockery of humanity. They are chiefly of 


MOUNT STUART. 


119 


ancestors and connections of the noble family of Bute—a 
set of most grave and respectable personages, some cased 
in mail, and others clothed in ermine. Among the rest 
there is a very singular portrait of Lady Jane Douglas, 
dressed in a riding suit. This portrait is curious on many 
accounts, but particularly so from the mysterious circum¬ 
stances connected with the history of the lady herself, which 
are to be found scattered over the proceedings in the famous 
law-suit, so well known under the name of the Douglas 
Cause —a cause which interested persons of every degree 
at the time it was in dependence, and which finally agi¬ 
tated even the political parties of the state, when it was 
decided by the supreme tribunal of the land. Her life 
was, for the last five years of it, full of romantic circum¬ 
stances, and connected with events as wonderful in their 
variety and character, as, I believe, they were to her preg¬ 
nant with suffering and sorrow. Sympathy for her pe¬ 
culiar situation and that of her offspring, (whether real 
or suppositious) formed, I have always thought, a large 
ingredient in procuring the ultimate decision. To many, 
the case was left as it had been found, at its com¬ 
mencement, a matter of doubt and difficulty, and it will 
ever remain so. Of John Earl of Bute, the unpopular 
minister of the young King George III., there is a full 
length picture by Ramsay, son of the author of the 
Gentle Shepherd —an artist who, without attaining to the 
highest excellence of his art, accumulated by his profes¬ 
sional labours a very handsome fortune, not less, it is 
said, than £40,000—a circumstance very uncommon in 
the last century, in the history of the painters of this 
country. This Earl is one of those Statesmen who 
have obtained an unenvied immortality, in the pages of 
the eloquent and unsparing Junius. It is not possible 
to look on his figure, standing forth in the glaring colour¬ 
ing of Ramsay, increased in this instance by the robes 
with which it is clothed, where elegant feebleness is finely 


120 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


pourtrayed, without feeling how little rank or station 
avails, when brought into contact with the power of ge¬ 
nius—and remembering that though these should clothe 
their possessor as with triple mail, they resist not the on¬ 
set of truth or of satire—and when unsupported by politi¬ 
cal honesty, are helpless as the paper helmet of childhood. 
This statesman became connected with the accomplished 
Lady Mary Wortley Montague, by marrying her only 
daughter, and, accordingly, in what is called the Mar¬ 
chioness' room, there hangs a portrait of that lively and 
charming woman, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, when 
she was in the full blaze of her beauty, and an object of 
extreme interest in the Court of George the First, by her 
powers of wit and conversation, as well as by the celebri¬ 
ty she had acquired in her travels. Were there nothing 
else to be seen at Mount Stuart, this picture is sufficient 
of itself to hallow the spot, and to elevate the apartment 
which contains so rare a gem to the rank of a temple dedi¬ 
cated to wit and genius. No painter ever gave greater 
truth to the loveliness of female beauty, or was more happy 
than Kneller, in transferring to his canvass, those attractive 
charms with which the world is witched. In this instance 
he was most fortunate in his subject, and has displayed even 
more than his usual skill. The worthy knight, I suspect, 
must have found the study an agreeable one, and painted 
Lady Mary con amove. The accuracy of outline, the grace¬ 
fulness of attitude, and the fine adjustment of drapery, for 
which Kneller was so celebrated, are in this delightful pic¬ 
ture most happily displayed. Indeed, the taste and fancy 
of this elegant woman may be said to beam from her coun¬ 
tenance as it is here represented by the magic pencil of Sir 
Godfrey. It was in consequence, I believe, of a request 
made to her by Pope, that Lady Mary was induced to sit for 
this portrait, which as a work of art is excellent, and as the 
faithful portrait of one, the repeated perusal of whose works 
prove her to have been pre-eminent in wit as she was in 


MOUNT STUART. 


121 


beauty, is of a very high value. To the fickle Poet’s devoted 
admiration of her Ladyship we owe this picture. At the 
time it was painted, Lady Mary resided at Twickenham, in 
the immediate neighbourhood of Pope’s celebrated villa. He 
seems to have been delighted with this work of art; for 
after viewing it, he gave vent to his admiration in the fol¬ 
lowing extemporaneous couplets, which he immediately 
wrote down and delivered to Lady Mary herself:— 

4 ‘ The playful smiles around the dimpled mouth, 

That happy air of majesty and truth, 

So would I draw, (but oh ! ’tis vain to try; 

My narrow genius does the power deny.) 

The equal lustre of the heavenly mind, 

Where every grace with every virtue’s join’d ; 

Learning not vain, and wisdom not severe, 

With greatness easy, and with wit sincere, 

With just description show the soul divine, 

And the whole princess in my work should shine.” 

How the Poet afterwards conducted himself to this Lady 
is a matter of history now well known. There is only one 
other picture which I can notice—it is a portrait of Rubens’ 
by himself, and hangs in the dining-room. This was a subject 
which the painter seems to have been fond of, as there are 
many portraits of this artist painted by himself, known in 
different parts of the world. Possessed of a handsome face 
with a remarkably expressive eye, and a fine figure, he mul¬ 
tiplied his likeness on canvas so frequently that Rubens’ 
figure is better known than that of any other painter of his 
own or any other age. In this picture the peculiar excel¬ 
lencies of the master are very apparent—the brilliancy of 
colouring—the truth and vitality of the flesh, and the great 
command of light and shade, which give such effect to his 
pictures, and a prominence approaching to real life. It is an 
admirable picture, and an enthusiast in the art would go 
miles to have a peep at it. 

“ Other pictures of very considerable excellence might 
be enumerated, but the impressions received from them have 

F 


122 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


now worn away, or were absorbed in those made on me at 
the time by Kneller’s Lady Mary, and Rubens’s portrait. 
Before we had reached the Gothic gate and lodge, lately 
erected by the noble Marquis, pieces of architecture in ex¬ 
cellent taste, and had paid our tribute of admiration to them, 
as well as to the elegant proportions and details of the iron 
gates, my mind had lost all trace of the pictures, save those 
I have noticed. 

“ You may say to **********, that the library is a snug 
and comfortable apartment, containing a respectable collec¬ 
tion of English literature, with a few classics, and some 
French and Italian works. We found nothing, however, 
that could lead us to suppose that the Marquis belonged to 
either the Roxburgbe or Bannatyne Clubs, for we detected 
no Jifteeners, no black-letter boys, no large papers ; nor did 
we find any traces by which we could discover that the il¬ 
lustrious nobleman ever was afflicted by a disease which 
sits heavily on some of your friends. But a truce to pros¬ 
ing, I must bring this lengthy epistle to a close. It is 
likely, however, that another breakfast party may produce 
a visit to more of the lions of this Island, and if so, you may 
again hear from,—Yours, &c." B. 

When we look to the good taste and just discrimination 
manifested by this ingenious letter writer, it is much to be 
regretted that on one particular topic he has been brief to 
a fault. We refer to his notice of Lady Jane Douglas's 
portrait. The notoriety which that lady acquired in conse¬ 
quence of the celebrated Douglas Cause , has in some mea¬ 
sure stamped her a public character in the history of the 
Scottish Aristocracy, and if he had been here writing for 
the press, he would, doubtless, have dwelt at greater length 
on the particulars of her life. Perhaps it may not be deemed 
impertinent in us to supply the hiatus we complain of, and 
to subjoin, for the benefit of some classes of readers, the 
following facts, with a portraiture, drawn by the hand of 


LADY JANE DOUGLAS. 


123 


one who was not only intimately acquainted with Lady 
Jane, but who joined to his knowledge of her character, all 
the judgment and discrimination necessary to appreciate the 
various accomplishments, both of mind and person, by which 
she seems to have been distinguished :— 

“ Lady Jane Douglas, descended from a long line of il¬ 
lustrious ancestors, was the only daughter of James, second 
Marquis of Douglas, and Lady Mary Ker, daughter of the 
first Marquis of Lothian, and was born at Douglas, the 
17th of March, 1698. Her brother Archibald, succeeded 
his father in 1700, and was created Duke of Douglas, by 
patent, in 1703, with limitation to the heirs male of his body. 
This nobleman dying without issue in 1761, Lady Jane was 
of course sister to the only Duke that has existed by the 
name and title of Douglas. In August, 1746, when bor¬ 
dering on forty-nine years of age. Lady Jane was married 
to Colonel Stewart, afterwards Sir John Stewart of Grand- 
tully, in the County of Perth, Baronet. On the 10th of 
July, 1748, while resident at Paris, her Ladyship had two 
sons at a birth—first, Archibald James Edward Stewart, 
late Lord Douglas of Douglas, and second, Sholto Thomas 
Stewart, who died at Edinburgh in his fifth year. The fact 
of this accouchement, unexpected from her Ladship’s ad¬ 
vanced age, and extraordinary from many other circum¬ 
stances, formed afterwards the subject matter, as the lawyers 
call it, of the Douglas Cause , the issue of which in the su¬ 
preme Court of Scotland, it is well known, was adverse to 
Lord Douglas, though the judgment was ultimately over¬ 
turned by the House of Peers. The action was instituted 
at the instance of the young Duke of Hamilton, with con¬ 
currence of his guardians, in December 1762, he being 
nearest male heir to Lady Jane’s brother, the Duke of 
Douglas, and after a most voluminous proof, taken both in 
Britain and France, it was finally determined in 1771. The 
people of Scotland were so interested in the result, that 
mobs were called into action on both sides, and in Edin- 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


124 

burgh, when the news of the Peers’ decision arrived, the re¬ 
spective partizans assembled, and broke one another’s win¬ 
dows with heedless and ridiculous fury. Lady Jane was 
grandmother to the present Lord Douglas—her character is 
graphically and elegantly drawn by the Chevalier Johnstone 
in his amusing Memoirs of the Rebellion of 1745, as fol¬ 
lows :— 

u * This worthy and virtuous lady, who was idolised by 
her country, possessed every good and amiable quality that 
could adorn her sex. She was beloved, respected, and 
adored, by all those who had the advantage of knowing her, 
as well as by the public in general, who only knew her 
through the high character and reputation she possessed. 
She had been very beautiful in her youth, and was still 
beautiful at the age of forty-five; appearing at least fifteen 
years younger than she really was, from the uniform, tem¬ 
perate, regular, frugal, and simple way of living she had 
always observed. She was virtuous, pious, devout, and cha¬ 
ritable, without ostentation; her devoutness was neither 
affected nor oppressive to others. Her affability, easy and 
engaging manners, and goodness of heart, soon set at their 
ease those who paid court to her, whom her graceful and 
majestic air might at first have rendered timid. Her mind 
was highly cultivated. She had a decided taste for litera¬ 
ture ; she had a great memory, much good sense and intel¬ 
ligence, with sound judgment, and a quick discernment. 
She possessed great elevation of soul, and was even haughty 
and proud on proper occasions, supporting her illustrious 
birth with dignity, without arrogance, and without vanity, 
but in a manner truly noble. If ever virtue seemed to be 
unceasingly persecuted by Providence, it was in the per¬ 
son of Lady Jane Douglas, the most amiable of her sex, 
eminent for every noble quality, and the most perfect model 
for imitation. In what I have here said to her praise, I 
have not been guilty of exaggeration. All those who had 
the good fortune to know her, and who now lament her 


ARGYLESHIRE. 


125 


death, will say a thousand times more in her praise, with¬ 
out being able to do justice to the merits of this adorable 
lady, who was as illustrious as she was unfortunate/ ” 

ARGYLESHIRE. 

This extensive county is situated on the south-western 
coast of the Highlands ; but besides the portion which may 
be termed continental, there are a great number of islands 
united to it. It contains twenty-seven parishes, and so 
much is it intersected by arms of the sea, that only one of 
these can be called inland; all the others being on the sea- 
coast. Like the rest of the west Highlands, this county is 
very mountainous, and is intersected by deep vallies, in 
many of which are fresh water lakes, possessing varied and 
picturesque beauties. 

Independent of its islands, Argyleshire possesses six-hun¬ 
dred miles of sea-coast, if w T e follow the various windings 
and indentations of its shores. Its greatest length from the 
Mull of Kintyre to the point of Ardnamurchan, is a hundred 
and fifteen miles, and its greatest breadth sixty-eight miles. 
Altogether, it is said to contain a surface of two thousand 
seven hundred and thirty-five square miles. The island por¬ 
tion contains nearly eleven hundred square miles; so that 
in whole the county presents a surface of three thousand 
eight hundred square miles. 

The climate of the lower and more southern parts differs 
very much from that of the higher and more northern parts. 
In the first, every where surrounded by the sea, the atmos¬ 
phere is mild and temperate, frost seldom continuing long, 
and snow rarely lying above two or three days at a time. 
But the other portion, elevated far above the level of the 
sea, and bordering on the Grampians, is subject to a se¬ 
verer atmosphere. These lofty mountains are generally 
covered with snow for a great part of the winter, by which 
the air is chilled to a considerable distance. The valleys, 


126 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


however, are not, even in that inclement season, so cold or 
uncomfortable as might he supposed, from the general as¬ 
pect of the country. Most of them are low and winding, 
and derive a great degree of shelter from the surrounding 
mountains. 


INVERARY CASTLE. 

This splendid mansion is one of the seats of his Grace 
the Duke of Argyle. It stands on the shores of Loch 
Fyne, an arm of the sea, which runs from the Frith of 
Clyde far into Argyleshire. The royal burgh of Inverary 
is in the immediate vicinity of the castle; and is seen in the 
distance in the engraving .—(See Plate.) The view of the 
town, the castle, its surrounding pleasure-grounds, and the 
beautifully wooded hill of Duniquaich, is exceedingly strik¬ 
ing. The grounds are admirably laid out; the roads through 
them are numerous, while numbers of romantic walks inter¬ 
sect and ornament the enclosures. The artificial embellish¬ 
ments of this place have all been executed since the period 
of the rebellion in 1745, shortly after which event, the foun¬ 
dation of the present castle was laid. This edifice is a large 
handsome structure; but it may appear diminutive in the 
eyes of many, from being placed in so low a situation, 
and in the immediate vicinity of the lofty Duniquaich. It 
is built of a dark blue pot stone, which appropriately assi¬ 
milates with the sombre complexion of the thickly wooded 
scenery which surrounds it. There is little genius displayed 
in the architecture, for it is simply a square castellated 
building, having round towers at each corner, and a large 
one rising in the centre. The inside which is splendidly 
fitted up, and furnished, contains many spacious apart¬ 
ments, among which the saloon is particularly remarkable. 
It is said that since the year 1745, about £350,000 
Sterling have been laid out in ornamenting this castle and 
the surrounding grounds; the late Duke alone, having ex- 


DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE. 


127 


pended £3000 yearly, for that purpose. The timber in 
the pleasure grounds, has been estimated as being now 
worth £200,000. 

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE. 

The ruins of Dunstaffnage Castle, form an object of pe¬ 
culiar interest. They stand on a promontory which projects 
into Loch Etive, in the northern part of the district of Lorn. 
Tradition affirms it to have been built by Ewin, a Pictish 
monarch, contemporary with Julius Caesar, who called it 
after himself Evenium. Whether this is to be believed or 
not it is undoubtedly a place of high antiquity, and one of 
the early residences of the Pictish and Scottish monarchs. 
Here, was for a long time preserved, the famous stone seat 
or chair, the palladium of Scotland. It was removed by 
Kenneth II., to Scone, and continued to be used as the 
Coronation Chair of the Scottish monarchs, till it was 
taken to Westminster Abbey, where we believe it still re¬ 
mains. 

The tradition with regard to this ancient relique is said to 
have been “ Ubi palladium, ubi Scotiae imperium;” that 
where the palladium should be, there should be the seat of 
the Scottish government; and this has been long ago fulfilled 
by the succession of James VI. of Scotland to the Crown of 
England. We are further told that this stone was originally 
brought from Spain where it was first used as a seat of jus¬ 
tice by Gatholus, who was contemporary with Moses ; such 
were the tales invented in former ages, to render more sa¬ 
cred in common eyes this ancient relique, for very ancient 
it undoubtedly is. Some portions of the regalia of Scotland 
were preserved in this castle till the last century, when the 
keeper’s servants, during his infirm years, stole them for the 
sake of the silver ornaments. There still remains, however, 
a battle axe of beautiful workmanship, ornamented with 
silver. 


128 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


The castle is a large square building, now in a very de- 
lapidated state. At three of the corners it is flanked by 
round towers; the present entrance is from the sea shore, 
by a ruinous staircase; and the whole has a dreary and de¬ 
solate appearance. Nothing now remains but the outer 
walls ; a mansion has been erected within them for the re¬ 
sidence of the proprietor. It is still considered a royal 
castle, and the Duke of Argyle is hereditary keeper; but it 
is nevertheless occupied as the absolute unrestricted pro¬ 
perty of a private gentleman. 

In 1307, it was possessed by Alexander M‘Dougal, Lord 
of Argyle, but was reduced that year by Robert Bruce. 
About 1445, it appears to have been the residence of the 
Lords of the Isles ; for James, the last Earl of Douglas, fled 
hither, after his defeat in Annandale, to Donald, the Regu- 
lus of the time, and persuaded him to take up arms and 
carry on a plundering war against his monarch, James II. 

EMINENT MEN IN ARGYLESHIRE. 

Innumerable Celtic traditions point to this county as the 
birth place of Ossian, as well as of several heroes of the race of 
Fingal. The Irish antiquarians, however, controvert the claim 
of our Western Highlands to that honour, and assert that 
the claim of the “ Green Isle” is far better founded, sinre 
their traditions are much more uniform and consistent. It 
is not our business to discuss the controversy here, but 
taking it for granted, that one tradition is just as good as 
another, we shall presume that the Gael have the preferable 
right to claim kindred with this ancient poet, and, in that be¬ 
lief, we may now state that the celebrated valley of Glencoe 
is generally reputed to have been the place of his birth. 
Whether this be fact or merely tradition, it were useless to 
debate, but we may remark that the belief of the High¬ 
landers in its truth, certainly derives some confirmation 
from the circumstance of Ossian making numerous allu- 


EMINENT MEN IN ARGYLLSHIRE. 


129 


sions to the scenery of the valley in his poems. The 
latter takes its name from the Coe, a stream which runs 
through it; and hence also, the more euphonious and poetical 
name of Cona given to it by the Bard:— <f Their sound was 
like a thousand streams that meet in Cona’s vale, when after 
a stormy night they turn their dark eddies beneath the pale 
light of the morning.’'— Fingal. “ The gloomy ranks of 
Lochlin fell, like the bank of the roaring Cona. If he over¬ 
comes, I will rush in my strength like the roaring stream of 
Cona.” —Carthon. “ The chiefs gathered from all their 
hills, and heard the lovely sound. They praised the voice 
of Cona, the first among a thousand bards: but age is now' 
on my tongue, and my soul has failed.” —Songs of Selma. 
Such are the characteristic allusions perpetually made to this 
spot by the silver-tongued bard of Cona. Nor is it to be 
wondered at—for whether they 6peak the feelings of a real 
or fictitious Ossian, they do no more than justice to Glen¬ 
coe. This valley is perhaps the most romantic and singu¬ 
larly picturesque piece of Highland scenery that is to be 
found in Scotland. On every side the rude rocks shoot up 
into a thousand fantastic forms of grandeur or of beauty. 
At the bottom of these again, are to be seen vast fragments 
which have been thrown down by a thousand storms ; while 
deep furrows, worn by the wintry torrents, indent the sides 
of the heights like the wrinkles of Atlas, and mark with 
impressive truth the terrible ravages of time. No where, 
in short, does nature afford finer exhibitions of the rugged 
picturesque than in the valley of Glencoe; and no where 
will the sensibilities of the passing traveller be more readily 
awakened, if he recollects that here was once the abode of 
the soft, the tender, the melancholy Ossian. Independent 
of the honour which it derives from having given birth to this 
Bard of the olden time, Argyleshire can lay claim to almost 
as many eminent men as there are clans; every head of a 
sept being unquestionably a great man. To enumerate even 
a tithe of those would, however, obviously exceed the limits 

f 2 


130 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


of a work like this, and, therefore, we shall confine ourselves 
to a brief notice of the more conspicuous members of one re¬ 
markable family, distinguished alike by its vast possessions, 
its devoted patriotism, and its ancient power—we mean the 
illustrious House of Argyle. Archibald, Earl and Marquis of 
Argyle, born in 1598, was a zealous Covenanter. Charles I. 
created him a Marquis, notwithstanding his opposition to the 
fanatic schemes of that monarch, for effecting a conformity be¬ 
tween the Churches of England and Scotland. It was by his 
persuasion that Charles 11. visited Scotland, and was crowned 
at Scone in 1651. Nevertheless he was, at the Restoration, 
committed to the Tower, and after lying there five months 
was sent to Scotland, where, being brought to trial for high 
treason, he was condemned and beheaded in 1661. Pennant 
gives a character of this nobleman, which, though somewhat 
overcharged, is not destitute of truth :—“ He was a man of 
craft and subtilty, and in his heart no friend to the royal 
cause, but temporising according to the complexion o? the 
times ; concurring heartily, but secretly, with the disaffected 
powers, and extending a faint and timid aid to the shackled 
royalty of Charles the Second, when, in the year 1650, he 
entrusted himself to his northern subjects. He was at all 
times providing pleas of merit with both parties, but was 
apparently sincere with the usurpers only. With them he 
took an active part during their plenitude of power; yet 
at first only claimed protection, freedom, and payment of his 
debts due from the English Parliament. His own interest 
seems to have been constantly in view. While Charles was 
in his hands, he received from that penetrating prince a pro¬ 
missory note for great honours and emoluments. He is 
charged with encouraging his people in various acts of mur¬ 
der and cruelty; but the provocations he had received from 
the horrible ravages of Montrose, may perhaps extenuate 
retaliation on those of his neighbours, who, for any thing 
that appears, partook of the excesses. He is charged also 
with possessing himself of the estates of those who w r ere put 


EMINENT MEN IN ARGYLESHIKE. 


131 


to death by his authority; a charge which his fine defence 
on his trial does not repel. His generosity in declining to 
take an open part in the prosecution of his arch-enemy, 
Montrose, would have done him great honour, had he not 
meanly placed himself at a window to see the fallen hero 
pass in a cart to receive judgment. On the Restoration, 
he fell a victim to his manes. It was intended that he should 
undergo the same ignominous death, which was afterwards 
changed to that of beheading. ‘ I could/ said he, f die like 
a Roman, but I choose rather to die like a Christian/ He 
fell with heroism—in his last moments, with truth, excul¬ 
pating himself from having any concern in the murder of 
his royal master; and calming his conscience with the opin¬ 
ion that his criminal compliances were hut the epidemic 
disease and fault of his times. His guilt of treason is indis¬ 
putable ; but the acts of grace in 1641 and 1651, ought 
certainly to have secured him from capital punishment.” 
Archibald, Earl of Argyle, the son of this Marquis, posses¬ 
sed far more integrity, but was not more fortunate than his 
father. He was uniformly steady and virtuous, and, during 
all the misfortunes of Charles the Second, he was firm to the 
trust which that monarch reposed in him. In every respect 
he acted a moderate and patriotic part; for though strictly 
devoted to the interests of Charles, when the Restoration 
took place, he honestly refused to acquiesce in the unprin¬ 
cipled and tyrannical measures which the Ministers of that 
Prince adopted in Scotland. One of these measures was 
the framing of an Oath, or Test, which they required all 
persons to take without any reservation or qualification what¬ 
ever; but Argyle, acting conscientiously, thought it neces¬ 
sary to make an explanation of the oath. The result was, 
that under the same Prince, to whom he had steadily ad¬ 
hered in his utmost adversity, he was brought to trial and 
condemned without a crime ; and the infamous sentence 
would have been executed, if he had not escaped from his 
enemies. In 1685, this Earl shared in the unfortunate at- 


132 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


tempt made by the Duke of Monmouth to restore the li¬ 
berties and preserve the established religion, then invaded 
by James the Second. Having been taken prisoner, he was 
put to death on his former sentence, in defiance of every 
principle both of law and equity. No man ever met his 
fate with greater resignation. On the day of his execution, 
he eat his dinner cheerfully, took a profound sleep after it, 
and was then led to the scaffold, where he fell with a calm¬ 
ness suitable to the integrity of his life. The celebrated 
Charles James Fox, in his History of the Reign of James 
the Second, has dwelt on this judicial murder with a feeling 
of indignation corresponding to its atrocity, and worthy of 
his own generous nature. There is yet another eminent 
member of the family of Argyle—we mean John, the 
second Duke of the name, and also Duke of Greenwich. He 
was bred to arms, served under the Duke of Marlborough, 
and was Brigadier-General at the battle of Ramilies. He 
also distinguished himself as a statesman, and was a pro¬ 
moter of the Union, for which he incurred considerable odium 
in his own country. He commanded at the battles of Ou- 
denarde and Malplaquet with honour, and also assisted at 
the sieges of Lisle and Ghent. For these services he was 
made a Knight of the Garter in 1710, and the year follow¬ 
ing was sent Ambassador to Spain, where he was also ap¬ 
pointed Commander-in-Chief of the English forces. In 1712, 
he had the military command in Scotland, of which post he 
was soon after deprived, for opposing the Court measures; 
but on the accession of George I. he was restored, and re¬ 
ceived additional honours. In 1715, he engaged the Earl 
of Mar’s army at Dunblane, and forced the Pretender to 
quit the kingdom. In 1718, he was created an English 
Peer, by the title of Duke of Greenwich. He filled suc¬ 
cessively several high offices, of which he was deprived for 
his opposition to Sir Robert Walpole, but on the removal of 
that Minister, he was replaced. He died in 1743, and was 
buried in Westminster Abbey, where there is a noble monu- 


LANARKSHIRE. 


133 


ment to his memory. It is this Duke who figures as Mac- 
caliummore in Sir Walter Scott’s admirable tale of the 
“ Heart of Midlothian.” 

LANARKSHIRE. 

This county is very generally denominated Clydesdale, 
from the river Clyde, which, rising at the upper extremity 
of the district, traverses it in a winding course for an extent 
of sixty-two miles, dividing it longitudinally, and afterwards 
expanding into a noble frith which wafts the trade of Glas¬ 
gow to the ocean. It is divided into three inferior divisions, 
called the Upper, Middle, and Lower Wards, which are 
under the jurisdiction of separate Sheriff-substitutes, ap* 
pointed by the SherifF-depute, whose power extends over 
the whole. 

The upper ward, which forms nearly two-thirds of the 
county, is mostly mountainous, or at least hilly and moorish; 
and from its great elevation, and the nature of its soil, not 
favourable to agriculture. At the commencement of the 
middle ward, the territory has lost much of its elevation, 
and continues to decline towards the north-west. It is 
everywhere diversified by inequalities, however, and there 
is scarce a plain of any extent intervening, except in some 
places on the banks of the Clyde. The soil is mostly of a 
clayey nature, but has everywhere received the highest im¬ 
provements and ameliorations from skilful agriculturists. 
The lower ward is a very limited district, but it is the most 
important of the whole, for it contains Glasgow, with the 
populous suburban villages around it. The soil here has 
been greatly improved, and brought into high cultivation 
from the overflowings of an extensive commerce. This di¬ 
vision of the county is also richly ornamented with villas and 
eouutry seats, belonging to the merchants and manufacturers 
of that prosperous city. 


134 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


GLASGOW. 

This flourishing commercial emporium is situated on 
the banks of the river Clyde, near the lower extremity of 
Lanarkshire. It is said, with its various suburbs, to cover 
about seven hundred acres of ground. In the reign of 
William the Lion, it received a charter, erecting it into a 
Royal Burgh, and granting liberty to hold a fair for eight 
days, annually. In 1176, it received farther privileges, 
and, since that period, various other charters and immu¬ 
nities have been conferred upon it by the Crown. 

It is entirely since the Union, however, that Glasgow 
has risen to that importance which she has now attained; 
and it is doubtless to the invention of the Spinning Jenny, 
by Arkwright, and the improvement of the steam engine 
by Watt, with the boundless supply of fuel, afforded by 
the great coal field with which she is surrounded, that 
her present prosperity must chiefly be ascribed. The 
cotton manufacture may be said to be the grand staple of 
the place. In 1818, her manufacturers could boast of 
fifty-four mills for spinning cotton, containing 600,000 
spindles, and this number has since been greatly in¬ 
creased. It is understood that they now employ about 
800,000 spindles. In 1825 there were fifty-four power 
loom factories, for the weaving of various kinds of cotton 
goods. In 1818, the hand looms employed by her ma¬ 
nufacturers were calculated at 32,000. 

Cotton goods, however, are not the only manufacture 
of Glasgow. The construction of steam engines is exten¬ 
sively carried on; there are also a number of iron and 
brass founderies ; with large works in which cotton, flax, 
and woollen machinery are constructed. Chemical works 
too, are numerous and extensive, and it possesses one of 
the best type founderies in the world—that of Messrs 





VIEW OF GLASGOW 


VIEW OF CATHEDRAL &c 


CATIICART CASTLE 












































































GLASGOW. 135 

Wilson and Sons, which has existed for more than a cen- 
tury. In a word, the manufactures of Glasgow are as 
various as those of any city in the empire, and, in many 
instances, have been productive of enormous wealth. The 
commerce of this city is likewise on a very extended scale; 
but to detail the particulars of her exports or imports, or 
the different countries with which she holds commu¬ 
nication, would be to give a list of all that contributes 
to the convenience or the luxury of man, and to name 
the shore of almost every continent and island on the 
globe. 

The streets of Glasgow are broad and admirably well 
paved, the houses lofty, and presenting many of the 
graces of architecture. The principal street, which as¬ 
sumes, in Sifferent parts, the names of Trongate and Ar- 
gyle Streets, is worthy of particular notice. It extends 
from east to west upwards of a mile; the average 
breadth is about seventy feet, and the houses are all 
four or five stories in height. Here is presented the prin¬ 
cipal scene of that ceaseless industry which has raised 
the city to its present eminence. From morn till night 
crowds of human beings, each intent on his own objects 
and plans, are to be seen moving rapidly along; carri¬ 
ages of every description contribute to swell the bustle, 
and add greatly to the interest of the scene, whilst the 
gay and splendid appearance of the shops and warehouses 
with which the streets are lined, at once delight the eye 
and indicate the luxury which so generally prevails. 

The public buildings are numerous, and many of them 
present very fine specimens of the different orders of ar¬ 
chitecture. The Churches, the University, the New Ex¬ 
change, the Assembly Rooms, the Lunatic Asylum, the 
Royal Infirmary, the Trades’ Hall, the Jail, and a variety 
of others, are all deserving of particular notice ; but our 
limits do not allow us even to give a list of the public 
buildings of this splendid city. In the year 1818, Glas- 


136 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


gow, with its suburbs, contained a population of about 
150,000 souls; it has since rapidly increased, and, ac¬ 
cording to the census of 1831, the number of inhabitants 
was ascertained to be 202,426. These have been classi¬ 
fied by that able and laborious statist. Dr Cleland, as 
follows:—Males, 93,724; Females, 108,702. Of whom. 
Householders, 41,965; viz. Married men, 80,032 Wi¬ 
dowers, 1,790; Bachelors, 1,437; Widows, 6,824; Spin¬ 
sters, 1,882. Of whom, Scotch, 163,600; English, 2919 ; 
Irish, 35,554; Foreigners, 353. Religion—Establish¬ 
ment, 104,162; Dissenters, 70,380; Episcopalians, 8,551; 
Roman Catholics, 19,333. There are, in the aggregate 
population, 5006 paupers, at a cost of £3 9s. 0^d. each 
per annum, or £17,281 18s. 0|d. for the whole ! 

Though the renown of Glasgow rests chiefly on its 
commerce and manufactures, it also holds no mean rank 
in the list of cities distinguished for science and letters. 
When we examine its history, we find it associated with 
the names of many learned, ingenious, and talented men, 
either natives of the place, or connected with its Uni¬ 
versity. Indeed, this establishment was at one time the 
glory of Glasgow, especially about thirty years ago, 
when Reid, Millar, Richardson, Young, Anderson, Fin¬ 
lay, Jardine, and Cleghorn, shone like constellations in 
the literary firmament of the north. But, alas, those 
days are long gone by; and we fear much that it will also 
be long “ ere we look upon their like again.” Let us 
not be misunderstood, however—we mean no reflection 
against the Professors of the present day, who, though 
they do not form a galaxy of fixed stars like those to 
whom we have just referred, yet possess talents quite 
worthy of their station, and at least equal to those of the 
Professors of any other academical institution in the land. 
Anciently the College of Glasgow had several remark¬ 
able peculiarities in its constitution, and it conferred 
some important privileges on its members. Previous to 


UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW. 


137 


the Reformation, the whole University formed, like a 
royal borough, a general corporation, while, at the same 
time, it was divided into separate faculties, which, like 
the different classes of tradesmen in a borough, were dis¬ 
tinct inferior corporations, enjoying peculiar immunities, 
property, and bye-laws. The whole incorporated mem¬ 
bers of this University, whether students or teachers, 
assembled annually in full congregation, on the day after 
St Crispin's day. They were divided into four classes, 
called nations, according to the place of their nativity. 
Under the heads of Clydesdale, Teviotdale, Albany, and 
Rothesay, all Scotland was included. Each class, or na¬ 
tion, elected representatives, who acted as assistants to 
the Rector on weighty occasions. The congregation of 
the University was often called, and usually elected re¬ 
presentatives to act in their stead. Each of the Faculties 
of theology, law, and arts, or general literature, had its 
own assemblies and representatives, by whom it was go¬ 
verned. As the whole University had a Rector elected 
by all the members, so each faculty had its own separate 
dean, or rector, and assistants elected by its members. 
At the dissolution of the Catholic hierarchy, however, 
this system was overturned—and various changes were 
effected, from time to time, till the constitution of the 
University assumed its present form. It is now go¬ 
verned by a Chancellor, Rector, Dean of Faculties, Prin¬ 
cipal, and Professors. The office of Chancellor is usually 
filled by some nobleman or other gentleman of rank in 
the country. He is chosen by the Rector, Dean of Fa¬ 
culty, Principal, and Professors ; and being head of the 
University, he presides in all its councils. In his name, 
too, are all academical degrees conferred. The office of 
Rector, however, may in one respect be called the most im¬ 
portant in this University—and it is simply, because the 
person appointed to it is chosen upon the popular principle 
of the whole members of the College having a voice in 


138 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


the election. He is chosen annually in the Comitia; that 
is, in a court in which all the students, on this particu¬ 
lar occasion, are entitled to vote, as well as the other 
members of the University. His duties are important, 
and might be of signal use in practice, if strictly at¬ 
tended to, but it has been too much the custom to 
neglect them. With the advice of his assessors, who 
are nominated by himself, he judges in all disputes 
among the students, and betwixt them and the citizens* 
He also summons and presides in the meetings of the 
University called for the election of his successor, or for 
preparing addresses to the King, electing a member to 
the general assembly, &c. The popular character of this 
officer’s election, has always given a high degree of inte¬ 
rest to it, and when candidates of opposite political prin¬ 
ciples are started, which is generally the case, a keen 
contest takes place, in which not merely the professors 
and students, but citizens of every class, engage with all 
the zeal and enthusiasm peculiar to political partizanship. 
There have been several remarkable contests of this kind 
of late years, and the choice of the students has, in every 
instance, done no less honour to the University than to 
their own discrimination. We need only state, in evi¬ 
dence of this truth, that they have successively filled the 
chair of the Rector with such men as Brougham, Lans- 
downe, McIntosh, Campbell, Jeffrey, and Cockburn; thus 
associating not only their Alma Mater, but the city and 
its inhabitants, with the most distinguished characters of 
the age. It is not to be forgotten also, that in carrying 
these elections, the students uniformly accomplished the 
triumph of liberal political principle—a triumph the more 
glorious—that Glasgow and its University had long been 
remarkable for Tory bigotry, and a species of political ser¬ 
vility, as unworthy of the dignity of letters as of commer¬ 
cial independence. Did our limits permit, we should 
here give a character of each of these DU Majores among 


LORD CHANCELLOR BROUGHAM. 


139 


our modern Lord Rectors, but we have already exceeded 
the space allotted to biography, and shall, therefore, 
confine ourselves to a brief notice of the present Lord 
Chancellor, and the charming iC Poet of Hope.” On the 
character of Mr Jeffrey, we have dwelt at some length 
elsewhere. 

LORD CHANCELLOR BROUGHAM. 

This remarkable man, whose elevation to his present 
rank was the result of thirty years’ public exertion, du¬ 
ring which he devoted himself, with fearless energy, to 
the correction of every species of abuse in our political 
system, was born at Edinburgh in 1779. His father was 
a gentleman of ancient family, but small fortune, in West¬ 
moreland, who took up his residence in Scotland, in con¬ 
sequence of marrying the sister of Dr Robertson, the his¬ 
torian, with whose mother he was boarded, while pursuing 
his studies at the Edinburgh University. The issue of 
this marriage was four sons, of whom Lord Brougham 
is the eldest. He acquired the rudiments of his educa¬ 
tion in that excellent seminary, the High School, and 
afterwards completed his studies in England. Being in¬ 
tended for the Scotch Bar, he also attended the usual 
prelections of the Professors of Civil and Criminal Law 
in his native city. Having passed Advocate in 1800, he 
practised for a short time before the Court of Session, 
and went the periodical circuits with the Justiciary 
Judges. Even at that early period his talents attracted 
considerable attention, and he was looked upon as an as¬ 
pirant of no ordinary promise. 

In 1803, he betook himself to the English Bar, where his 
forensic powers soon brought him into notice, and procured 
him, not merely professional distinction, but a seat in Par¬ 
liament. He was first representative for Camelford, then 
for Winchelsea, afterwards for Knaresborough, and finally 
for Yorkshire. His election for the last was alone honour- 


140 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


able to him, for it was conferred purely on account of his 
transcendant public merits, and was, besides, a spontane¬ 
ous unsolicited compliment, prompted by the coviction 
of the electors, that by such a choice they would at once 
serve the interests of their country, and afford a triumph 
to liberal opinions. The election of Mr Hume, for Mid¬ 
dlesex, took place upon the same principle, and nearly 
about the same time. They may well be said to consti¬ 
tute the era of just political thinking in England. In like 
manner, it may be truly remarked, that nothing affords a 
more instructive commentary on the past working of the 
English system of representation, than the fact, that up 
till the period of these two elections, Henry Brougham, 
one of the most enlightened orators and statesmen that 
ever addressed a British Senate, was indebted for his seat 
in the House of Commons, to the patronage of a borough¬ 
holding Peer. 

The Parliamentary career of Lord Brougham is too well 
known to require illustration here. It is only necessary 
to state that, during its whole course, he has been dis¬ 
tinguished alike for his matchless industry and his almost 
unrivalled oratorical powers. In the art of Rhetoric he 
is indeed a master of the first order; and, at this moment, 
forms the most important link in the chain that connects 
our living orators with the school of Burke. It is no easy 
task to convey, by mere words, a just idea of the charac¬ 
teristic manner of so remarkable a speaker, and, therefore, 
although we have heard him for hours together, we shall 
not attempt it. To gratify the reader, however, we shall 
transcribe a description of it, which was given by the cor¬ 
respondent of an Irish journal in 1830, just a few months 
before his Lordship was raised to the Woolsack. He was 
at that time plain Henry Brougham, distinguished only by 
his addition of Esq. and M. P. Of course it is in the cha¬ 
racter of an orator in the House of Commons that he is 
decribed, and as we have seen him in it often, we can 


LORD CHANCELLOR BROUGHAM. 1^1 

answer for the truth and pictorial character of the writer's 
details:— 

“ Mr Brougham generally takes his seat in the centre, 
or near the upper end of the principal opposition bench, on 
the other side of the table, from the Ministers; he com¬ 
monly wears shabby black clothes, and being without his wig 
and gown, looks many years older than he does when they 
are on ; he appears to me to have a peculiarly dark, seri¬ 
ous, and even sullen look, as he sits with his arms folded 
and his hat pulled over his face, as if to keep his eyes in 
the shade, listening to what is said, but never (in all the 
many times that I have observed him,) taking down any 
note of it. 

“ It is difficult to describe by written words the effect 
upon the House, when he gets upon his legs—there is a 
black determined earnestness in his manner, which seems to 
say, I have got a work to do, and with the blessing of God 
I will do it, before I sit down. When uncovered, his iron- 
grey hair appears, lying in the flattest and least ornamented 
style upon his forehead—his arms are extremely long, and 
his first motion is to stretch out one of them to its utmost 
length across the table, and there to deposit his hat in a 
fixed position, as if he would say, there you shall lie for 
some time to come. He then commences, in a manner in 
which ease is curiously combined with great earnestness, 
and frequently in a tone, that for absolute loudness, does 
not much exceed a whisper; he goes on, enunciating his 
words with a clearness of utterance which he possesses in a 
very remarkable degree, insomuch, that in every part of the 
House, he is quite distinctly heard. His accent is, as far 
as I know, quite peculiar to himself; it is neither English 
nor Scotch; and whether it be that of Berwick-upon-Tweed, 
I cannot pretend to say. I have heard many Englishmen 
ridicule it as Scotch; but they knew nothing about the 
matter—some call it disagreeable; those who think with 
me, do not. As he proceeds, he becomes more warm and 


142 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


loud, but his words are still clear, and dispose themselves 
into sentences with admirable precision, even when uttered 
with the most tempestuous fury. Now it is that his eyes 
flash ; he strikes the table with his hand, and pours out his 
soul in a torrent of bitter words, which exceedingly affect 
the gallery ; but the f gentlemen of England,’ are rather an 
imperturbable race, and do not, like the Irish, catch the 
contagion of excitement. 

“ The first time I was ever in the House of Commons, 
was a few months before the awful end of the late Lord 
Londonderry. It was a beautiful evening in summer ; there 
were few persons in the House, and I was amusing myself 
looking through the windows at the gay boats with their 
w f hite awnings, gliding swiftly along the Thames, when my 
attention was called to two persons walking into the House 
almost together, yet keeping as far apart as the breadth of 
the passage up to the table would permit—they were Lord 
Londonderry and Mr Brougham—two men, who, except that 
they measured about the same number of inches from head to 
heel, were in all respects as opposed to one another in mein, 
mind, and manners, as they were in politics. Lord L. was 
eminently handsome, and possessed in his noble bearing and 
appearance, that happy combination of mildness, elegance 
and dignity, which may, perhaps, be expressed at once, by 
the word gracefulness. Mr Brougham has scarcely the least 
pretension to any of the three. They took their seats on 
either side of the table, exactly opposite to each other, and 
the member for Winchelsea, happening to he in one of his 
furious moods, was not long in breaking forth. Some ale¬ 
house man had seut him a complaint of his license having 
been discontinued, in consequence of his taking in a par¬ 
ticular newspaper, which the angry Senator, holding up in 
one hand, clenched the other, and shaking it at the Miuister 
opposite, thundered out an invective, which in the old Irish 
House of Commons, would have set a whole host of orators 
in a blaze during the night, and some charges of gunpowder 


LORD CHANCELLOR BROUGHAM. 


143 


a flashing in the morning. But the mildness of Lord Lon¬ 
donderry’s countenance was not, for a moment, disturbed— 
it was his manner to affect a contempt for Mr Brougham, 
when he was furious, and he sat, now smelling to a bouquet 
of flowers, which he carried in his button-hole, and now re¬ 
galing his nose with the touch of his cambric pocket hand¬ 
kerchief, while the storm of anger raged at the other side of 
the table. I was surprised to see that Mr Brougham's fiery 
eloquence did not produce the least reply—it fell like a 
thunderbolt upon an ice-berg, glanced along, hissed, and was 
extinguished. 

“ Mr Canning’s warm, and (until he became Prime Mi¬ 
nister,) joyous temperament, did not admit of his treating 
this formidable antagonist with the composure of affected 
scorn. I shall not allude to the remarkable personal alter¬ 
cation between these eminent statesmen, because it is a 
painful subject, and sufficiently known already,—but in ge¬ 
neral, Mr Canning used his wit with the happiest effect 
against Mr Brougham’s fierce invective. Who has not heard 
of f Mr Brougham’s thunder,’ at which the House laughed 
for a night, and the public for a week, or of the Minister’s 
courteous expressions of regret, that Mr Brougham should 
have thrown away so much ‘ excellent indignation’ upon a 
matter where it was altogether superfluous ? They say that 
the fierce Member for Winchelsea became at last afraid of 
the witty Minister, and, even when he was bursting with a 
redundant storm of rage, used to wait for the departure of 
Mr Canning from the House, ere lie ventured to open the 
safety valve and let it blow off. 

“ As the House of Commons is at present filled, I have 
little hesitation in saying that Mr Brougham stands com¬ 
pletely without a rival. It is impossible to imagine any 
such thing as a struggle for the superiority, between him and 
any of the present Ministers, who, whatever may be thought 
of their ability in other respects, certainly do not hold any 
very lofty place as public speakers. Mr Peel is no more 


144) SCENES IN SCOTLAND, 

than a fluent debater, who never utters a striking sentence, 
or even by accident, hits upon an original expression—for 
such a man as Brougham to exert his oratorical powers 
against Mr Peel, would he like hurliug his arrows against a 
wool pack; they would neither rebound nor pass through, 
hut would fall ineffectual, by reason of the softness of the 
body against which they were directed. Yet it is to be re¬ 
marked that Mr Brougham is by no means perfect as an 
orator. In the power and even fierceness of his energy, he is 
scarcely to be surpassed; in sarcasm he strikes with harsh, 
but irresistible violence, and he uniformly grasps the most 
sonorous and expressive terms, with the facility of a perfect 
master of his language; but there is scarcely a touch of 
tender feeling, of simple pathos, or of the perception of 
goodnessy in all that he has ever spoken. The lofty excel¬ 
lence of knowledge, the stern nobleness of virtue, the ma¬ 
jesty of freedom, and the glory of resistance to oppression, 
have all been set forth by him with matchless eloquence and 
force ; but for all that he has ever said, there might be no 
such thing as the power of affection, the solicitude of love, 
the sympathies of charity, or the tenderness of feeling, which 
subdues the heart by softening it. To those who have stu¬ 
died the best models of eloquence, who know that there is a 
something in almost the worst of human breasts, which re¬ 
sponds to well directed appeals to the feelings, and these 
appeals may be delicately wrought up with the most ener¬ 
getic exposition of wrong, or demonstrations of right, it will 
not be necessary to say, that the orator who relies upon 
force and energy alone, uses but a part of the armoury 
which his art affords. Mr Plunket, whose oratorical powers 
were similar in many respects, and equal in all, to those of 
Mr Brougham, possessed also a feeling in his eloquence, of 
which the latter gentleman seems utterly destitute. It is 
with no slight sentiment of national pride, that I thus re¬ 
fer to my Lord Plunket, in speaking of the eloquence of the 
House of Commons, of which he was so long the bright- 


LORD CHANCELLOR BROUGHAM. 


145 


est ornament, even when it boasted the presence of men, 
of whom, alas! we are doomed to see no adequate suc¬ 
cessors. While he felt and used the gentler, but not less 
effective instruments of oratory, he governed his energy 
with more prudence and discretion than belonged to Mr 
Brougham, but those who have heard or read his speeches 
in the Irish House of Commons, and recollect how he 
lashed, as with a scourge of lire, the manager of the Go- 
vernmennt business in that House, will scarcely doubt 
that the will, and not the power, was wanting, to put 
forth speeches of even more appalling force than those 
with which Mr Brougham almost terrified the members 
of the English Legislature. 

There was a calm consciousness of strength about 
Mr Plunket, on important occasions, where some coura¬ 
geous step seemed necessary, that was very admirable. 
Upon one of the occasions just referred to he undertook 
what perhaps no other man in the House (except under 
the influence of personal feeling, which overleaps all 
thought of consequences,) would have ventured to attempt. 
He coolly, but peremptorily, interrupted the fiery orator, 
and in the very tempest and whirlwind of his passion, 
stopped him by an appeal to order. Mr Brougham 
glared at him with a blaze of fury and astonishment 
streaming from his eyes, as a tiger may be supposed to 
do upon a lion, when the forest monarch comes between 
him and the prey upon which he is about to spring. 
There was a taunting bitterness of expression, which 
loudness could not reach, in the low conversational tone 
in which he said, that the Right Honourable Gentleman 
seemed to have forgotten where he was—that perhaps he 
might have been accustomed to such interruptions in the 
Irish House of Commons, but in that House he should 
recollect that gentlemen were not to be interrupted. 
Who is there that can imagine how this bitterness of 
speech, and the sneering allusion to the scene of his 

G 


146 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


youthful prowess, coming together, roused the indigna¬ 
tion of Mr Plunket, and stirred, as with a sword, all the 
slumbering fire of his youth ? 

“ ‘-Utque leo, specula cum vidit ab alta 

Stare procul campis meditantem prcelia taurum.’ 

He started up to battle with his adversary, but the 
Speaker, fearing, as he well might fear, the consequences 
that were likely to ensue, interposed, and the belligerents 
were pacified.” 

Such was the character of Lord Brougham, as a par¬ 
liamentary orator, during the long period of fifteen years 
that he acted as leader of Opposition in the House of 
Commons. His powers, in that particular line in which 
he is known to excell, have had fewer opportunities for 
display since he was raised to the Woolsack, but when¬ 
ever the occasion calls for it, he still exercises them with 
all his wonted skill, and with relentless severity. More 
than one Noble Lord has received lessons from him in 
this way, that will not soon be forgotten. But it is not 
merely as an orator that this extraordinary man has dis¬ 
tinguished himself through life. His name is identified 
with every thing that is liberal and enlightened, both in 
politics and letters. He has been the uniform and con¬ 
sistent exposer of public abuses of every description, and 
as his talents are only equalled by his industry, he has 
done more, perhaps, than was ever done by any single 
individual to purify and amend the civil, political, and 
religious institutions of his country. In short, as he him¬ 
self once truly and happily said, his whole life has been re¬ 
gulated by an unquenchable hatred of tyranny, whether in 
Church or State—in England or in her colonies—in the 
Old World or in the New—in France, in Spain, in Por¬ 
tugal, in Greece, in Italy. He has lent his eloquence to 
the support of liberal opinions wherever they appeared. 
He has marched with the spirit of his age, for the 



THOMAS CAMPBELL, ESQ. 


147 


enlightened purpose of ameliorating the condition of 
mankind, and it is to be hoped that his reward will be 
to see his principles not merely influencing the destinies 
of his country, and conducting it to unrivalled prosperity, 
but establishing a new era in politics, and laying the 
foundation of a happier rule for the human race. 

THOMAS CAMPBELL, ESQ. 

There are few things more delightful than to trace 
successful genius to its birth, to pursue it in its course, 
and to dwell on its results; in other words, to ascertain 
the origin, mark the career, and appreciate the labours 
of an ingenious or celebrated man. With unfeigned plea¬ 
sure, therefore, do we proceed to give the following sketch 
of the admired author of “ Gertrude of Wyoming” and 
“ The Pleasures of Plope.” 

This elegant and perhaps most classical of modern 
poets, is a native of Glasgow. Pie was born in 1777, and, 
at a very early age, passed through the curriculum of edu¬ 
cation usually allotted to the youth of that city, with 
distinguished success. Mr Allison, a very eminent teacher 
of the Latin language, was his first instructor in grammar 
and the classics, and it is to the honour of both, that the 
grateful pupil still speaks of the excellent qualities which 
characterised his earliest preceptor and friend. He had 
scarcely completed his twelfth year, when the prescribed 
course of tuition at the Grammar School expired, and, 
according to Scottish custom, he was immediately trans¬ 
ferred, at that premature age, to the University. Here, 
however, under the auspices of' Richardson, Young, Jar- 
dine, and other eminent Professors of that period, the pre¬ 
cocity of his talents soon enabled him to outstrip compe¬ 
titors who were by far his seniors. He was the successful 
candidate in a keen competition for a bursary; and, in 
poetical exercises particularly, he bore away every prize. 
PI is translations from the Greek tragic poets, written at 


148 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


this period, still live to attest the early existence in his 
mind of that rich poetic ore which his more ripened genius 
afterwards fashioned into various forms of almost un¬ 
rivalled elegance and beauty. Campbell’s poetical vein, 
premature and beautiful as it was, did not however con¬ 
stitute his sole title to distinction while at College. His 
classical attainments were remarkable for his years, while, 
in extent and variety, they far exceeded those of his 
youthful contemporaries. Every one knows who has ex¬ 
perienced any thing of the rivalry which exists among 
the young candidates for fame at an University, how 
much regard and applause is allotted to him who exhibits 
the real fruits of studious application, in the richness and 
multiplicity of his academical acquirements. Our young 
poet panted for this species of reputation—he toiled for 
it incessantly, and soon reaped the well-earned reward. 
It was thus that, at the age of sixteen, his claims to lite¬ 
rary honours were so willingly allowed ; and that within 
the circle of his college he had, as it were, a foretaste of 
that renown which was afterwards so liberally awarded 
him by the world. 

His academical career, we believe, was finished when 
he had scarcely reached nineteen. It has never been 
stated that he was intended for any of the learned pro¬ 
fessions, or that the bent of his mind lay either towards 
law, physic, or the church. Of course we must presume 
that, from his first entrance into life, his pursuits were 
meant to be altogether literary. In 1821 he went to 
Edinburgh, chiefly with a view to the publication of his 
“ Pleasures of Hope,” a sketch or nucleus of which had 
been produced while he was at College, though it only 
assumed its more perfect and matured form after he had 
made numerous additions and alterations, written by slow 
degrees, and at various intervals of time. 

To those unacquainted with literary history, it will 
now seem wonderful that any difficulty should have been 


THOMAS CAMPBELL, ESQ. 


149 


experienced in the first attempt to publish this exquisite 
poem ; yet nothing can be better authenticated than the 
fact of its having been offered in vain to every respect¬ 
able bookseller, both of Glasgow and Edinburgh. In the 
former city, to be sure, the gentlemen of the trade at 
that period rarely published any thing beyond a six¬ 
penny song book on their own account: but it may 
well excite surprise that in the Scottish metropolis, famed 
for its literary society, as well as for the enterprise and skill 
of its booksellers, not a single publisher could be found 
who would venture to give a price for “ The Pleasures 
of Hope.” Nay more, not one of them could be pre¬ 
vailed upon to risk even paper and print upon the 
chance of its success; and at last it was only with con¬ 
siderable reluctance that Messrs Mundell and Son, the 
printers to the University, undertook its publication, 
with the liberal condition—that the author should be al¬ 
lowed fifty copies at the trade price, and in the event of 
its reaching a second edition, a further gratuity of £10 ! 
Shade of Archibald Constable! quondam prince of literary 
speculators, thy spirit had not yet burst upon the Scot¬ 
tish metropolis ; and unfortunately, our young poet had 
to contend with the sordid views of narrow-minded 
men, mere pedlers in their profession, who were as little 
disposed to estimate the value of his poem in money as 
they were capable of appreciating its merit as a work 
of genius. There can be no doubt that the treatment 
which he received on this occasion, sunk deep into his 
mind; and we believe that, to the present hour, his pre¬ 
judices against booksellers and publishers are scarcely 
eradicated. An anecdote is told of him which proves 
how strong the feeling of resentment at the injustice he 
experienced had taken possession of his mind. Several 
years afterwards, on being asked one day, at a large dinner 
party, to give a toast, he, without hesitation, to the 
astonishment of every one present, proposed the health of 


I 


150 SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 

“ Buonaparte,” who was then running that fearful career 
of spoliation and victory which threatened to overwhelm 
every Government in Europe, and ours among the rest. 
The exclamation of Oh ! Oh ! resounded, of course, from 
every side of the table, when the indignant feelings of the 
company were instantly mollified by the poet exclaiming, 
“ Yes, Gentlemen, here is Buonaparte, in his character of 
executioner of booksellers !” It happened that only a few 
days previous, there had arrived in London the news of 
the judicial murder of Palm, a bookseller of Germany, 
who had been shot by an express order of the French 
Emperor, for contravening one of his tyrannical decrees 
respecting the Press of that country. 

If “ The Pleasures of Hope” thus failed to make an 
adequate pecuniary return to its young and sanguine 
author, there can be no question that, to an ardent and 
aspiring mind like his, it brought what was perhaps of 
far more consequence—a rich and abundant harvest of 
fame; affording at once a strong stimulus to his ambition, 
and a motive for future exertion in a career that has long 
since enrolled his name among the brightest literary or¬ 
naments of his country. In the world of letters there 
was but one opinion as to the merit of this delightful 
poem—that nothing so beautiful had been produced since 
the days of Goldsmith—and nothing so perfect since the 
age of Pope. This was indeed high praise, but it was 
not more ^han was due to the unquestionable genius 
which every line of it displayed. It were an insult to 
the understanding of our readers, to offer, at this time 
of day, any thing like a criticism on a poem so univer¬ 
sally admired; we shall therefore simply express our 
conviction that it would be difficult to point out any 
single piece, either ancient or modern, that has better 
claims to the title of a perfect composition—to find one 
that so uniformly and eloquently speaks both to the un¬ 
derstanding and the heart; or, that in point of sentiment, 


THOMAS CAMPBELL^ ESQ. 


151 


imagery, and expression, exhibits so large a portion of 
what constitutes the soul, and, if we may so express it, 
the life-blood of poetry. For pathos, tenderness, and 
beauty, there is nothing to excel many of its passages, 
even in Tibullus. Its lofty appeals to patriotism and the 
spirit of liberty, are scarcely rivalled by the famed frag¬ 
ments of Tyrteeus ; nor has Homer, himself, a nobler 
passage than the following apostrophe, which closes the 
poem, and which for majesty, both of thought and ex¬ 
pression, has justly been said to have no parallel in modern 
times:— 

♦ 

“ Eternal Hope ! When yonder spheres sublime, 

Peal’d their first notes to sound the march of Time, 

Thy joyous youth began—but not to fade.— 

When all the sister planets have decay’d. 

When wrapt in fire, the realms of ether glow, 

And Heaven’s last thunder shakes the world below ; 

Thou, undismay’d, shalt o’er the ruins smile. 

And light thy torch at Nature’s funeral pile.” 

After remaining three years in Edinburgh, alike the fa¬ 
vourite of the grave, the gay, and the fair, and where were 
lavished on him all those courtesies of hospitality which 
the people of that city so well know how to apply when¬ 
ever it suits their vanity or their interest, our young poet 
proceeded to the Continent, and took up his residence in 
Hamburgh. The immediate object of this excursion we 
have never seen explained ; and, although he visited va¬ 
rious places in Germany, during a tour of thirteen months, 
the purpose of his journey does not seem to have extended 
beyond the gratification of that ardent curiosity which is 
natural to youth when first launched into the world. The 
events of this tour, however, must have been interesting 
in the highest degree to a mind so enthusiastic and sensi¬ 
tive as Campbell’s. We know that it was performed during 
the hotest period of a furious war, and that his route lay fre¬ 
quently through those districts which were most exposed 


152 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


to the ravages of the soldiery. In one instance, he was ex¬ 
posed to great personal risk at Ratisbon, which was only 
saved from bombardment, while he happened to reside in 
it, by the sudden and unexpected conclusion of a French 
and Austrian treaty. On another occasion, he had the su¬ 
blime satisfaction, if we may so speak, of witnessing, from 
the walls of a convent, a furious conflict between the 
hostile armies of those two powers. This was the battle 
of Hohenlinden, the memory of which he has embalmed, 
as every reader must remember, in verses that deserve to 
live for ever. So close was he to the scene of action, that, 
after it was over, he saw the French soldiers ride up the 
streets, wiping the blood from their yet reeking swords 
with the manes of their horses. Scenes of this kind, 
thoa%h on a less important scale, were of frequent occur¬ 
rence in the districts through which he passed, and they 
did not fail to make a lasting impression on his imagin¬ 
ation and feelings. His memory is still richly stored 
with anecdotes of what he saw and heard during that 
eventful period—and he tells them (for he is the most de¬ 
lightful of story-tellers,) with a grace peculiarly his 
own—giving a fine dramatic effect to their details, which 
renders them doubly interesting, and which those only 
can appreciate who have had the good fortune to hear 
them. The beautiful ballad of “ The Exile of Erin,” had 
its origin in circumstances which attended this journey. 
Hamburgh then swarmed with Irish Emigrants, expatri¬ 
ated on account of their politics. Some of them were men 
of amiable characters though of mistaken views; and the 
poet being frequently in their society, naturally caught the 
contagion of their thoughts, and perhaps a deep tinge of 
their opinions. He has, accordingly, pourtrayed with ge¬ 
nerous sympathy, the feelings which reigned among the 
Irish patriots of that day, in strains as touching and me¬ 
lancholy as were their fortunes. Should Campbell ever 
favour the world with his autobiography, we may well 


THOMAS CAMPBELL, ESQ. 


153 


suppose that this German tour will form not the least in¬ 
teresting portion of the work. 

In 1802 the Poet returned to England, and for the 
first time in his life visited London. His fame and his 
literary character had however gone thither before him, 
and he was not only welcomed in the literary circles of 
that vast mart of genius, but he also became a prodigious 
favourite with those disinterested gentlemen, the book¬ 
sellers. His talents were, of course, in immediate requi¬ 
sition, but if we look to the nature of the employment he 
received, we may guess at what a cost of time, of patience, 
and of toil, to a sanguine temperament like his, at the age 
of twenty-four. The precious discrimination of those 
trading Msecenases at once tasked the “ genius of poesy,” 
which dreamt of nothing but Hope and its thousand aerial 
visions, with three thick volumes of compilation from mo¬ 
dern gazettes. This was the continuation of Hume and 
Smollett’s Histories of England—a species of literary drud¬ 
gery obviously ill suited to the taste and pursuits of a youth 
whose whole soul was wrapt in aspirations of the lyre. 
His execution of the work however was not without abi¬ 
lity. It had at least the merit of making money for its 
publishers. Meanwhile his muse was by no means idle; 
and, at intervals, the public hailed with delight several of 
those beautiful lyrics which have long since placed him 
first in the first rank of those who have distinguished them¬ 
selves in the composition of our National Songs. Among 
his pieces of this description, it is scarcely necessary to re¬ 
mind the reader of “ The Battle of the Baltic,” and “Ye 
Mariners of England,” both of them identified with every 
thing that is elevated and ennobling in British patriotic 
feeling, while for boldness of imagery, dignity of thought, 
and harmony of numbers, they rival every composition ot 
a similar kind in our own or any other language. 

The year 1803 formed an era in the life of the poet, for 
in that year he was married. The lady was Miss Sin- 

g 2 


154 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


clair of Greenock—and we have heard that the match on 
either side was one of pure love. 

In 1809 was published his “ Gertrude of Wyoming/’ by 
far the most imaginative, though not the most popular of 
his poems. It is, indeed, richly intellectual, and may justly 
be ranked among those pieces which indisputably belong to 
the very highest order of poetry. Sweetness and pathos are 
its prevailing characteristics ; but it contains many lofty 
passages, and though the Arcadian scenery described in 
it is said to have had no existence except in the warm 
imagination of its author, the truth of the moral deline¬ 
ations are unquestionable, because they at once carry 
conviction to the mind and the heart of every ingenuous 
reader. Never, for instance, was there a more accurate, 
and at the same time, a more poetical picture, than is given 
of the aboriginal American Indian:— 

“ As monumental bronze unchanged his look , 

A soul that pity touch’d, but never shook ; 

Train’d, from his tree rock’d cradle to his bier. 

The fierce extremes of good and ill to brook 
Impassive—fearing but the shame of fear— 

A stoic of the woods,—a man without a tear /” 

The success of this beautiful poem, is said to have exceeded 
even his own expectations, though these were no doubt 
great, since it had not only cost him much time, but more 
than his customary quantum of the lima; labor in preparing 
it for the press. Of his fastidious care and anxiety in this last 
particular, the clear expression of the thoughts, and nice ela¬ 
boration of the language, are sufficient evidence. But, indeed, 
this is the distinctive character of all the poetical compositions 
of Campbell—the clearness of the sense is only equalled by the 
exquisite polish of the style—and hence their permanent claim 
to be ranked as standards in modern poetry. An anecdote is 
told which humorously illustrates how zealously he exercises 
the file in polishing his writings, and how difficult he finds it 
to please his own exquisite taste in composition. While en« 


THOMAS CAMPBELL, ESQ. 


155 


gaged on his poem of “ Gertrude,” he resided at Sydenham 
with hb family; the writing and re-writing of stanzas occu¬ 
pied, of course, almost all his time, and morning, noon, and 
night, saw clouds of torn and chipped paper proceeding from 
the window of his study. A neighbour, residing next door to 
the poet, and who happened to have a passion for horticul¬ 
ture, complained loudly of this species of snow shower, which 
spread itself far and wide over his garden, and which, he 
swore, had the effect to spoil all the charm of his cabbages 
and cauliflowers, by making them look like so many Lord 
Chancellor’s well powdered periwigs ! 

What emolument Mr Campbell derived from the publica¬ 
tion of his “ Gertrude,” we have never seen stated, but it 
certainly brought him an accession of fame that could not 
be without some influence on his fortunes. He was subse¬ 
quently appointed a Professor in the British Institution, 
where he delivered a series of Lectures on Poetry, which 
were fine specimens of taste, skill, and acumen, in the art of 
criticism. About the same time he undertook, for the book¬ 
sellers, “ Selections from the British Poets,” a task which 
he executed with much discrimination. His estimate of the 
character and genius of Burns, in that work, was alike 
worthy of the subject and of his own powers. 

About this time he paid a second visit to Germany, 
where he remained till 1820. His excursion being under¬ 
taken in a season of peace, it was not associated with such 
striking events as those which occurred when he first became 
acquainted with that country; but it was nevertheless render¬ 
ed interesting by the renewal of former friendships, as well as 
by the opportunities it afforded of examining foreign manners 
with a more matured judgment, and with all the advantages 
of sixteen years additional experience of the world. Much of 
his time was spent in the society of the celebrated Schlegel. 
In 1820 he returned to England, and undertook the Editor¬ 
ship of the New Monthly Magazine, the merit of which was 
so conspicuous that, for years it took the lead in English 


156 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


periodical literature, and, we believe, it only lost that dis¬ 
tinction when the aid of his talents and the charm of his 
name was withdrawn from it. 

In 1824 Mr Campbell published his “ Theodoric,” which, 
though like all his other poems, beautiful in point of imagery 
and language, was yet unsuccessful. The cause of its failure 
must be ascribed to the want of dramatic interest in the 
story. In other respects it is not unworthy of the genius 
of its author. 

During the last few years Mr Campbell’s efforts in poetry 
have been limited to occasional pieces in the Magazines. 
The reason is well known. These sparkling gems bring a 
higher price than the solid ore of poetry of a more lofty 
and imposing kind—a circumstance no doubt of considerable 
importance to the man, but certainly not very favourable to 
the fame of the poet. As Byron said of Moore, however, 
before he published his “ Loves of the Angels ,”— (( This 
is mere trifling with his genius.” He should undertake some¬ 
thing really worthy of his powers and of the reputation he 
has already acquired. In short, we should like to see Camp¬ 
bell still exclaiming in the language of Virgil, Paullo majorci 
canamus ! 

If Mr Campbell has of late done little in poetry, it can¬ 
not be said that he has been altogether idle. His Lectures 
on the Greek Poets, is a work equally solid and ingenious. It 
is valuable alike for the extensive knowledge which the 
author displays of his subject, and for the exquisite acumen 
which characterises his critical strictures. Henceforth it 
will doubtless rank as a classic in that peculiar department 
of literature to which it belongs ; and among scholars it 
must always be looked upon as a monument of the poet’s 
merit, not merely as a critic but as a master in prose com¬ 
position. 

In 1831 Mr Campbell was announced as the Editor of 
a new Magazine, entitled (( The Metropolitanand about 
the same time he published a small volume of his lighter 


THOMAS CAMPBELL, ESQ. 


157 


poetical pieces. The former is not unworthy of the reputa¬ 
tion he acquired as conductor of the “ New Monthly.” It is 
a periodical of sterling merit. The latter are like all the 
lighter pieces of Campbell—literally « Gems of purest ray 
serene.” 

In the brief sketch which we have thus given of Mr 
Campbell’s literary career, it will be obvious that we have 
done little more than chronicle his works. Let it not be 
supposed, however, from the meagreness of our details, 
that the life of this ingenious man and most accomplished 
poet, has been that of a recluse. We believe, on the 
contrary, that there is scarcely a public character alive 
who has taken a greater interest in passing events, du¬ 
ring the last thirty years; and with two or three splendid 
exceptions, such as Byron, Brougham, and Scott, there 
is perhaps no individual whose genius and writings have 
had a greater influence on public opinion, or shed a 
brighter lustre on the age. It would be going too far, 
certainly, to ascribe this to the mere charm of his poetry, 
or to suppose it the effect of those literary productions 
which are emblazoned with his name. The influence to 
which we refer is of another but not less powerful kind— 
it is that which he has long silently exercised in his cha¬ 
racter of a journalist—as the Editor of a talented and 
popular Magazine. This is a species of influence, to be 
sure, not very palpable to the uninitiated, and which 
can only be rightly understood by those who enjoy it; 
but that it exists is indisputable, and in this country there 
can be no doubt that its sway is now very considerable, 
both in politics and letters. Jeffrey, Wilson, and Lock¬ 
hart, know well how far it extends, and also how much 
it may sometimes be abused; but in so far as regards Mr 
Campell, we believe that the power has never been other¬ 
wise than legitimately exercised. He has been uniformly 
the advocate of popular rights—the friend of liberal in¬ 
stitutions—and the reader may remember that, in one 


158 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


memorable instance, his editorial advocacy led to results 
which promise to be not less beneficial to his country than 
honourable to his own judgment and patriotism—we mean 
the founding of the London University. Though others 
received for a time the credit of that grand Metropolitan 
undertaking, the merit of suggesting it belonged unques¬ 
tionably to Mr Campbell. The plan was originally drawn 
up by him, and by him alone. He afterwards pressed it 
upon the attention of the public in a series of admirable 
papers in the New Monthly Magazine, nor did he for a 
moment intermit his exertions until he saw his project 
realized, and all its details triumphantly carried into 
effect. That a rival University was soon after founded, 
which had its origin in the true spirit of party politics, 
so characteristic of John Bull, is no disparagement to the 
plan which was first adopted, and certainly not the less 
honourable to Mr Campbell. It was a natural, though 
unexpected consequence, flowing from some intolerant ob¬ 
jections to the absence of certain religious features which 
were thought indispensable to such a seminary by the 
High Church party in the State. But it must neverthe¬ 
less be admitted that the double result of two Universi¬ 
ties, instead of one, only enhanced the importance of the 
original idea which gave rise to them. 

While thus in possession of a power, which in one sense 
may be called the lever of opinion, Mr Campbell has seldom 
found it necessary to thrust himself on the attention of the 
public, except by his writings; nor can it be said of him, 
that he has ever courted the flattering but spurious applause 
which too often results from mob popularity. It so happens, 
however, that one of the most gratifying events of his life 
was produced by the exercise of pure uncontrolled popular 
suffrage—a circumstance which must have rendered it doubly 
gratifying to a man of his liberal political opinions. This 
was his election, on three different occasions, to the high 
office of Lord Rector in the University of his native city. 


THOMAS CAMPBELL, ESQ. 


159 


It rarely happens, indeed, that so distinguished an honour 
as the Lord Rectorship is conferred on any one individual, 
for more than two successive years, but various circum¬ 
stances, equally honourable to Mr Campbell and the electors, 
concurred to make him the object of their choice a third 
time. A distinction so marked and uncommon, decisively 
established the claim of the poet of Hope to be considered, 
not merely the idol of his Alma Mater , but, par excellence , 
the poet of the people. Never were the suffrages of the 
latter more judiciously bestowed than in this election. It 
was the homage of right feeling to talent and integrity; the 
result was justly hailed as the joint triumph of honesty and 
genius. 

The fame of Campbell, popular as it has ever been, rests 
not, however, on the mere breath of the million. His poems 
speak a language that will never die. It is the language of 
truth, nature, feeling, tenderness, and love. As faithful tran¬ 
scripts of the best passions of the heart—as rich emanations 
of real genius—chaste, beautiful, and harmonious, often sub¬ 
lime—they will go down to posterity monuments of the 
just taste and admirable talent of the age in which they 
were penned. Yes, through latest ages will the heaven- 
born spark, that originally lighted up the flame of poetry 
in his breast, burn in the glowing inspirations of his muse; 
and, when he himself shall haply render up his mortal coil 
(far distant be the day), it will only be to realise the lofty and 
touching conception of his own imperishable strain :— 

“ What hallows ground where heroes sleep ? 

’Tis not the sculptured piles you heap ! 

In dews thac heavens far distant weep. 

Their turf may bloom ; 

But strew his ashes to the wind, 

Whose sword or voice has saved mankind— 

And is he dead, whose glorious mind 
Lifts thine on high ? 

To live in hearts we leave behind, 

Is not to die.’* 


160 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


THE CATHEDRAL OF GLASGOW. 

The Cathedral of Glasgow is the most perfect speci¬ 
men of the numerous edifices dedicated to the religion of 
our forefathers which now remain. When others of equal 
or superior splendour were torn down and mingled in 
the dust at the Reformation, it was protected from vio¬ 
lation by the spirit of the citizens, and it still towers 
in hoary grandeur, at once a monument of their civic 
virtue and of the architectural taste of the times long 
gone by. It is built in the early English style, and in 
the form of a cross; but the original design has never 
been completed, as the transepts hardly extend beyond 
the body of the church. That it had been intended to 
complete it by enlarging them is obvious, for the foun¬ 
dation of the south transept still remains as it was left at 
the Reformation, forming a crypt or vault in which the 
clergymen of the city are interred. 

At the intersection of the transepts, there is a tower 
and spire of chaste and beautiful design. The great 
western door is now shut, but it appears to have been one 
of much richness and beauty. The south and north fronts 
each display two tiers of long, narrow-pointed, early 
English windows, in some instances trefoiled, in others 
cinquefoiled at the top. Above the first range of win¬ 
dows the wall is terminated by a battlement or parapet, 
from which springs the lower roof to meet the upper 
wall, which is erected on pillars forming the north and 
south ailes in the interior. This wall rises high enough 
to afford room ’ for the upper range of windows, which 
are similar to and separated by buttresses like those be¬ 
low. The upper wall is likewise terminated by a battle¬ 
ment which supports the main roof of the building. 

The early English style of architecture, derives its prin¬ 
cipal effect from the extent and grandeur of the general 


CATHCART CASTLE. 


161 


design rather than from the delicacy or beauty of the de¬ 
tails. Its lanceted arches, long and narrow windows, with¬ 
out either mullions or featherings, high and deep project¬ 
ing buttresses, and plain unornamented walls and battle¬ 
ments, are in themselves objects possessing little either of 
beauty or grandeur. But the impressions conveyed by this 
Cathedral, and by other buildings in the same style, show 
how limited is the effect of ornamental detail, when com¬ 
pared with the sublimity arising from the size and extent 
of a building, or the magnificence of its general design. 
Within, however, it is not altogether destitute of orna¬ 
ment, but even here the principal effect is produced by 
the height of the roof and the pillars, and the long with¬ 
drawing ailes, along which the eye wanders, while the 
mind is filled with awe. 

The episcopate was founded in 1116 by Earl David, af¬ 
terwards King David I., and his tutor, John Achaius, re¬ 
ceived the appointment of bishop. He is said to have first 
begun the present church about the year 1136. Under 
various subsequent bishops numerous additions and alter¬ 
ations were made to it; but the Reformation, which de¬ 
prived the church of its revenues prevented the original 
design ever being completed. The first bishop was fol¬ 
lowed by twenty-five successors, when in the person of 
Bishop Blackader it was erected into an archbishoprick. 
There were in succession four Catholic archbishops, and 
after the Reformation there were ten Protestant ones. 
The episcopal religion was then abolished, and the pres- 
byterian religion securely established. Since then the 
church has been divided, and now forms places of wor¬ 
ship for two distinct congregations. 

CATHCART CASTLE. 

This castle stands on the water of Cart, about two 
miles distant from the city of Glasgow. It has long been 


162 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


a total ruin ; but its position upon a lofty bank above the 
river is striking and picturesque, and in former times it 
must have been a place of some strength. It originally 
belonged, with the adjoining barony, to the noble family 
of Cathcart; but it was alienated by Alan, the third Earl, 
about 1546, since which time, till lately, the family have 
had no lands in this part of the country. The present 
Earl, however, purchased the ancient castle some years 
ago, with an adjoining farm, on which there is a hand¬ 
some villa, which is now a favourite residence of the 
family. 

HAMILTON PALACE. 

This magnificent building, the seat of his Grace the 
Duke of Hamilton, consists of two parts, an old portion, 
which is not seen in the engraving, and a new part, of 
which the principal front is seen, and which has just been 
completed externally. The latter was begun in the year 
1824, under the direction of David Hamilton, Esq., 
architect, Glasgow, who finished the design. The prin¬ 
cipal front, which looks towards the north, is two hundred 
and sixty three feet in length, and sixty feet in height. 
It is divided into three stories or floors; a rustic or base¬ 
ment story, the principal floor, and a chamber floor above. 
The elevation of this front displays an exceedingly grand 
specimen of the Corinthian order. There is a magnificent 
portico in front, under which is the principal entrance, 
and to which we ascend by a splendid stair, which enters 
it from the right and from the left. The portico stands 
boldly out from the building, raising aloft its magnificent 
columns, crowned with rich Corinthian capitals, and sup¬ 
porting an enriched entablature and pediment. It con¬ 
sists of a double row of six pillars, one behind the other, 
by which the depth and grandeur of effect is much in¬ 
creased. The pillars are thirty feet six inches in height, 





HAMILTON TALATF. 


bothwkll CASH, b 



































FALL OF STONEBYRES. 


163 


and three feet two inches in diameter, each formed of an 
entire stone. In the centre of the pediment the family 
arms are carved in bas-relief. Altogether, the front of 
this building is truly magnificent, and full of grandeur; 
and it is not too much to say that it is unequalled as a 
private residence in Scotland. 

BOTHVVELL CASTLE. 

This noble monument of antiquity, and indeed one of 
the most magnificent ruins in Scotland, stands on the 
northern bank of the Clyde, near the village of Both well, 
and about six miles from Glasgow. The scenery which 
surrounds it has a corresponding aspect of grandeur. 
The river here takes a fine sweep around the ruins; its 
breadth is considerable, and it spreads over a rocky bot¬ 
tom ; the banks are high and covered with wood. On 
the south side are seen the ruins of the Priory of Blantyre; 
on the north the castle rears aloft its still majestic though 
ruined towers. The castle appears to have been very 
extensive, and what remains is above two hundred and 
forty three feet in length, and ninety nine in breadth 
over the walls. The roofs of the apartments are lofty, 
and what appears to have been a chamber of state, had 
large windows towards the south. The chapel still re¬ 
mains at the east end of the court yard. It has at various 
periods belonged to different noble families, but has oc¬ 
casionally reverted to the Crown. It is now the property 
of Lord Douglas, whose family mansion is in its immediate 
neighbourhood. 

FALL OF STONEBYRES. 

This is the lowest fall upon the river Clyde, and is 
about two miles distant from Lanark. There are three 
falls upon the river within a few miles of each other. 


164 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


The upper fall, called Bonnington Linn, is about two 
miles and a half from Lanark ; and here from an elevated 
point above, the whole body of the river is seen precipi¬ 
tating itself with a dreadful noise into the chasm below, 
over the edge of a perpendicular rock. The height of 
the fall, including a small one immediately above, is thirty 
feet. Cora Linn, the second fall, is about a mile farther 
down the river, and nearer Lanark. At .this place the 
water does not fall perpendicularly over, as at Bonning¬ 
ton ; but is dashed from one shelving rock to another, so 
as to form three different though almost imperceptible 
leaps. Nothing can surpass the striking and stupendous 
appearance of this fall, situated as it is amidst the most 
magnificent natural scenery of woods and rocks; and 
when viewed from almost any spot, it can scarcely fail 
to strike with astonishment the unaccustomed observer. 
On a rock immediately above the fall is the ancient Castle 
of Cora; and on a lower ledge, is seen a corn mill driven 
by the stream, where the miller plies his peaceful occu¬ 
pation, unmindful of the deafening noise and furious 
turmoil of the waters with which he is surrounded. This 
fall is eighty four feet in height. 

Stonebyres Fall, which is that shown in the engraving, 
is about three miles below Cora Linn. Like it, the latter 
consists of three distinct falls succeeding one another, and 
forming altogether a fall of about seventy feet in height. 
This is equally romantic with the upper falls ; wild rugged 
rocks hang over the roaring waters, and throw their dark 
shades over the abyss beneath. The rocks are finely 
fringed with wood, but the trees are not so tall and stately 
as we find at Bonnington and Cora, for here they consist 
chiefly of natural wood and copse. 

The Falls of Clyde have long been celebrated as the 
resort of travellers from all quarters of the world. Of 
course they have often been described by Tourists, but 
perhaps the most graphic of any of these descriptions is 


RENFREWSHIRE. 


165 


the following impromptu, which was entered several years 
ago in a book kept in the inn at Lanark, and in which all 
who visited them entered their names:— 

What fools are mankind, 

And how strangely inclined, 

To come from all places 
"With horses and chaises, 

By day and by dark 
To the falls of Lanark ; 

For, good people, after all, 

"What is a waterfall ? 

It comes roaring and grumbling, 

And leaping and tumbling, 

And hopping and skipping, 

And foaming and dripping, 

And struggling and toiling, 

And bubbling and boiling, 

And beating and jumping, 

And bellowing and thumping. 

I have much more to say upon 
Both Cora Linn and Bonnington, 

But the trunks are tied on 
And I must be gone. 


EMINENT MEN IN LANARKSHIRE. 

This county has given birth to Ramsay, Grahame, 
Finlay, and Campbell, the Poets; William and John 
Hunter, the Anatomists; Professor Young, one of the 
first Greek scholars of the age; Dr Moore, the Novelist 
and Traveller; his son. Sir John Moore, who was killed 
at the battle of Corruna; the patriotic Lord Archibald 
Hamilton, and various others of note, both in politics and 
letters. 


RENFREWSHIRE. 

This is but a small county, yet it contains a very con¬ 
siderable population, which is chiefly owing to its being 


166 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


the seat of many important branches of manufacture. It 
formed originally part of the county of Lanark, at which 
time it was a barony, belonging to the Stewarts. Over 
it they had a jurisdiction, which was exercised by their 
baron bailie. It remained a part of the shire of Lanark, 
at the accession of Robert, the Steward of Scotland, to the 
Scottish throne in 1371, and for more than thirty years 
afterwards. A portion of this district is rendered pecu¬ 
liarly interesting from its being the first territory possessed 
in Scotland by the ancestors of the royal line of Stewart, 
from which the present Royal Family of Great Britain 
derive their right to the throne of the united kingdoms. 

ABBEY OF PAISLEY. 

This Monastery was founded by Walter the son of Alan, 
the first of the Stewart family who settled in Scotland. 
About the year 1160, he brought a prior and thirteen Clu- 
niac monks from Wenloc, in Shropshire, his native county; 
and for them he erected a monastery and a church, the ruins 
of a part of which is seen in the engraving. They stand 
upon the eastern bank of the Cart, and are now surrounded 
by a portion of the town of Paisley. Previous to the Re¬ 
formation this had become the most considerable, and most 
opulent religious establishment in the west of Scotland. 

The Abbey of Paisley was the family burying place of 
the Stewarts before their accession to the throne ; and even 
after that epoch, Euphemia, the queen of Robert II., who 
died in 1387, and Robert III., who died at Rothesay, in 
1406, were buried there. In Catholic times it was cele¬ 
brated as the resort of those pious devotees of the church 
who were admirers of St. Mirran, the patron saint of the 
place, and many a weary pilgrim travelled thither to worship 
at his shrine. 

The abbey church, which was exceedingly magnificent, 
appears to have been built in the reign of James I. and 






































































































' 



































4 -> r ■ ■ 


•* 


‘ - f - 
















. 

' 


1 




■ 
























CRUICKSTON CASTLE. 


167 


James II. It was a cross church, with a lofty steeple at 
the intersection of the transepts with the body of the build¬ 
ing. From what is still in existence, it appears to have 
been very highly decorated both internally and externally ; 
and the transepts were ornamented with each a magnificent 
window, the ruins of one of which is seen in the engraving. 
The choir, which must have been the most splendid portion 
of the whole has entirely disappeared, and even its found¬ 
ations can hardly be traced. The steeple too, has long since 
fallen down. All that remains of the transepts is that part 
which appears in the engravings The western portion of 
the nave, however, is still in good preservation, and it is now 
used as one of the parish churches in Paisley. Two rows 
of splendid pillars separate the north and south ailes from 
the centre of the nave, which receives the light on both 
sides by a double row of windows. The great western en¬ 
trance, and a magnificent window above it, are still in fine 
preservation. 


CRUICKSTON CASTLE. 


The ruins only of this castle remain, and they are situ¬ 
ated in the parish of Paisley, on a rising ground immediately 
above the river Cart. It has been a noble edifice ; and was 
originally the principal messuage or manor-house of the re¬ 
gality of Crockston, which included the lordship of Darnley 
and Inchinan, in this county, and the lordship of Tarbolton 
in the shire of Ayr. The most ancient proprietors of both 
the castle and barony, were a family of the name of Croc or 
Croix of that Ilk. Robert de Croc is a witness to the char¬ 
ter of foundation of the Abbey of Paisley, in 1160. This 
ancient barony afterwards came by marriage, with Marion de 
Croc, heiress of the property, to a younger son of the illus¬ 
trious family of Stewart, from whom were descended that 
branch of the family designed of Crockston and Darnley, 
afterwards Earls and then Dukes of Lennox. From the 


168 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


Duke of Lennox this property was purchased in 1710 by 
the Duke of Montrose, and by him subsequently sold to the 
Maxwells of Pollock, It is now the property of Sir John 
Maxwell of Pollock. 

It is the current tradition of the country, that here the 
unfortunate Mary Stewart and her husband, Henry Darnley, 
resided a short time after their marriage, and the root of an 
ancient yew tree, now cut down, used to be pointed out as 
the spot where, under the shade of its spreading branches, 
they often used to recline. There is no good foundation, 
however, for this statement, as Mary does not appear to 
have visited Cruickston, either previous to, or after her 
marriage. 

GREENOCK. 

This thriving town is pleasantly situated on the south¬ 
western margin of a beautiful bay of the Frith of Clyde. 
About a hundred and thirty years ago it was merely a small 
fishing village, but in the course of the last century it acquired 
some shipping, and engaged in foreign as well as the coasting 
trade; though for a long time it possessed only its natural 
haven without any pier. At the epoch of the Union, how¬ 
ever, the inhabitants not only built a quay and wharf, but 
constructed a capacious harbour, containing an area of up¬ 
wards of ten Scotch acres. In consequence of this, the trade 
of the town began progressively to increase, and at the be¬ 
ginning of the present century, the shipping of Greenock 
far exceeded that of any other town in Scotland. The har¬ 
bour and docks have since been greatly improved, and when 
we look to their extent, they strikingly evince the commer¬ 
cial importance of the town. The manufactures of Greenock 
are chiefly those in connection with shipping and commerce. 
In 1823 the population was 24,000; but it has since con¬ 
siderably increased. 


GREENOCK. 


169 


The appearance of Greenock, when approached from the 
water, is very fine. In front are the harbours and shipping ; 
. beyond that, the town itself, while the back ground is formed 
by a ridge of high hills, which rise very abruptly at a short 
distance from the sea, leaving but a narrow strip of level 
ground, on which the town has been erected. The hills are 
r ichly ornamented with villas, and elegant houses, belong¬ 
ing chiefly to the merchants of the place. The streets are 
well paved, and the newer portion of the houses are hand¬ 
somely built; the shops are generally respectable in their 
appearance ; and altogether, the town indicates that it is 
inhabited by a wealthy, and an industrious population. 
The view which is given in the plate, is taken from the hills 
behind, looking down upon the town, with its quays, har¬ 
bours and shipping. In the middle distance is seen the 
Frith of Clyde, crowded with ships, and in the back ground 
the opposite shores of Dumbartonshire, and the entrance to 
the Gare Loch. 

The enterprising spirit of the merchants of this town, 
has given birth to one of the most splendid efforts of 
science and art that is to be found perhaps in Britain. We 
mean the Shaw’s WaterWorks. By a singular combination 
of ingenuity and skill, a small stream of water is made to 
travel along the faces of mountains or across several ravines 
in a very curious manner, for the space of six miles and a 
half, from a grand reservoir, till it reaches the brow of a hill, 
about a mile above the town, at the elevation of 512 feet 
above the level of the sea. Here it is husbanded in a small 
reservoir, and managed in such a manner as to produce, by 
means of this stupendous fall, a power equal to that of 2000 
horses, greater, it is estimated, than that produced by all 
the steam engines in the city of Glasgow, the great empo¬ 
rium of the West of Scotland. By the inventions of Mr 
Thom, of Rothesay, the ingenious contriver of this splendid 
scheme, and under whose personal superintendence it was 
carried on from its beginning to its completion, this immense 

H 


170 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


power is rendered more secure and certain than that of 
steam, insomuch that any doubt of a full supply of water, 
at all times, and at all seasons, to an extent commensurate * 
with the power, is altogether out of the question. To 
strangers, a more interesting visit could not be proposed 
than one to the Shaw’s Water Works. There is a level 
footpath from its source to its termination ; and during the 
walk, the beautiful scenery of the Clyde is almost always 
in view. 

EMINENT MEN IN RENFREWSHIRE. 

This county is distinguished above all others in Scotland, 
not only as comprehending the original patrimonial estates of 
royalty, but as being the birth-place of the immortal Wallace, 
who was the younger son of Wallace of Elderslie, a place in 
the neighbourhood of Paisley. This illustrious man, whose 
name is associated with the earliest recollections of Scots¬ 
men of every rank, is not more to be admired for his brave 
and inflexible opposition to the most powerful, and talented 
enemy his country ever encountered, than for his disin¬ 
terested conduct when in power, and while exposed to every 
temptation that could have rendered virtue irresolute. It is 
probably to this latter quality, and the moral dignity of his 
character, more than to his bravery in the field, that his me¬ 
mory has remained even until now, so affectionately enshrined 
in the hearts of his countrymen ; for with regard to Wallace, 
it is obviously something beyond the mere admiration of 
his courage and skill as a warrior, that has connected his 
name with numerous objects of nature, in almost every 
district of the country. No monument of stone or brass 
has been erected to him, but every stream and every 
rock is associated with some portion of his history, or 
has some tradition connected with it, which keeps the 
name of Wallace fresh in the recollection of an admiring 
posterity. Renfrewshire has also given birth to several 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


171 


men of historical and literary eminence ; among the latter 
may be mentioned Alexander Wilson and Robert Tan- 
nahill, both poets of no ordinary merit, and otherwise re¬ 
markable, as having distinguished themselves from the 
common herd, purely by their genius. Tannahill ultimately 
became a martyr to ill health and despondency. Wilson 
expatriated himself, and afterwards associated his name 
with the science of the New World, by a splendid and in¬ 
teresting Work on American Ornithology. There is another 
and a living Wilson however, who, in letters at least, may 
be considered the glory of Renfrewshire. We mean the 
celebrated Professor of Morals in the University of Edin¬ 
burgh, and the reputed Editor of Blackwood’s Magazine. 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ., 

PROFESSOR OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY 

OF EDINBURGH. 

While sketching the biography of this remarkable man, 
we believe we shall but follow in the track of several others 
who have preceded us, if, instead of describing the grave 
self-denying dignified philosopher, we paint a modern 
Alcibiacles, versed in all the arts of modish life, and deeply 
initiated in the wild ways of a luxurious world. It will 
doubtless seem singular to many, that such a man should 
ever have sought or obtained an Academical Chair; but 
it ought to be remembered that in this chequered exist¬ 
ence the views and habits of individuals are often either 
changed by accident or squared by necessity ; and thus 
we not unfrequently find, that he who, born to affluence, 
hath, in the hot season of youth, run the usual fashionable 
career of frivolity and pleasure, meets in his riper years 
with so many bitter disappointments, that he is fain at 
length to rein in the passions, and seek for solace or en¬ 
joyment in calmer and more rational pursuits. That this 
has been the fate of the famed Editor of Blackwood, will 


172 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


be pretty clearly exemplified in the following brief me¬ 
moir of his life. The season of youth, the hey-day of 
hope and ambition, was with him a wild and very reck¬ 
less period. A better day accidentally dawned—he was 
forced by circumstances to alter his course—and happily 
a reign of dissipation and pleasure was at length suc¬ 
ceeded by one of reflection and philosophy. 

Professor Wilson is the eldest son of a wealthy and 
respectable manufacturer in Paisley, and was born there 
in 1784. He was reared and educated with almost aris- 
tocratical indulgence—a circumstance that may be ac¬ 
counted for by the amount of his patrimonial inheritance, 
which has been variously estimated at thirty, forty, and 
fifty thousand pounds. He acquired the first rudiments 
of knowledge under the best teachers. In classical learn¬ 
ing Mr Peddie* of Paisley was his earliest instructor; and 
from the school of that excellent man he was transferred, 
at the close of the usual course, to the University of 
Glasgow. Here, like the generality of our Scottish youth, 
he was entered by far too early, being- little more than 
thirteen years of age; but he inherited from nature a 
robust constitution, was athletic and manly beyond his 
years, and possessed withall an irrepressible buoyancy of 


* In February, 1831, a public dinner was given at Paisley by the 
pupils and friends of this gentleman, as a token of their respect for his 
private worth, and for his zealous and successful exertions as a teacher, 
during the long period of fifty years. Professor Wilson was in the chair, 
supported on the right by Mr Pcddie, and on the left by the Rev. Dr 
AFLatchie, of Mearns. The croupiers were John Orr, Esq., William 
Sharp, Esq., and Alexander Campbell, Esq. The Reverend Dr Burns 
(ffieiated as chaplain. On proposing the health of his venerable pre¬ 
ceptor, the Professor delivered a brilliant oration—not the least curious 
part of which was the account of his own erratic progress in his boyish 
days. “ Sometimes,” said he, “ I sat as dux—sometimes in the middle 
of the class—and, I am obliged to confess, that on some unfortunate 
occasions I was absolutely dolt!" This honest confession of course 
elicited loud laughter from the meeting. 



JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


173 


spirit. It is almost unnecessary to add that at this period 
he was distinguished rather by the vigour of his physical 
constitution than by the precocity of his intellect. 

The studies of young Wilson, while at Glasgow, were 
of course those of the mere boy, and though he was 
rarely behind his fellows, yet it does not appear that he 
was very remarkably distinguished either as a hard 
student or by superiority of talent. It was not till he 
had entered a very different arena that his intellectual 
powers fairly began to unfold themselves. In 1803 he 
was transferred to the University of Oxford, and here 
first dawned the sun of that brilliant genius which has 
since shone so luminously on the world of letters. The 
occasion was one in which merit alone could be trium¬ 
phant, and therefore was it the more signally honourable. 
He contended in the annual competition for a prize of 
fifty guineas, allotted to the best fifty lines of English 
verse, and though the contest was open to not less than 
two thousand co-rivals, he succeeded in triumphantly 
bearing away the palm from every competitor. 

At Oxford, as at Glasgow, however, the physical powers 
of Mr Wilson were still more conspicuously developed 
than those of his mind. He was long distinguished rather 
by the qualities which usualy designate the man of fortune 
and fashion than the laborious student. In fact the 
course of life which he led, was marked by all the levities 
and follies peculiar to the high-spirited and independent 
youth who resort to that celebrated seminary of learning. 
At the same time it is said to have been so singularly 
mixed up with the ordinary tastes and pursuits of literary 
men, that it became difficult to determine to what class 
of the academical crowd he belonged. With all he was 
equally a favourite, and not less an object of admiration. 
A fellow Oxonian who knew him well, and afterwards 
lived on the most familiar terms with him, has graphically 
described his career at that period in a letter written to a 


174 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


friend in America. After stating the luxurious aristocrati- 
cal system and wide latitude of indulgence enjoyed at 
the Oxford Colleges, he proceeds nearly as follows :— 
<e Of these advantages Mr Wilson availed himself to 
the utmost extent. Instead of going to Baliol College, 
he entered himself at Magdalen, in the class of what are 
called f Gentlemen Commoners/ All of us, you know, 
in Oxford and Cambridge wear an academic dress, which 
tells at once our academic rank, with all its modifications. 
And the term * Gentleman Commoner ,’ implies that he has 
a more splendid costume, and more in number;—that he 
is expected to spend a good deal more money;—that he 
enjoys a few trifling immunities;—and that he has, in 
particular instances, something like a King’s right of pre¬ 
emption, as in the choice of rooms, &c. Once launched 
in this orbit, Mr Wilson continued to blaze away for the 
four successive years, 1804-5-6-7, I believe, without any 
intermission. Possibly I myself was the one sole gowns¬ 
man who had not then found my attention fixed by his 
most heterogeneous reputation. In a similar case, Cicero 
tells a man that ignorance so unaccountable of another 
man’s pretensions, argued himself to be a homo ignorahilis; 
or, in the language of the Miltonic Satan, f Not to know 
me, argues thyself unknown.’ And that is true: a homo 
ignorahilis most certainly I was. But even with that ad¬ 
mission, it is still difficult to account for the extent and 
the duration of my ignorance. The fact is, that the case 
well expresses both our positions: that he should be so 
conspicuous as to challenge knowledge from the most se¬ 
questered of anchorites, expresses his life ; that I should 
have right to absolute ignorance of him, who was as fa¬ 
miliar as daylight to all the rest of Oxford, expresses 
mine. Never indeed before, to judge from what I have 
since heard upon enquiry, did a man, by variety of 
talents and variety of humours, contrive to place him¬ 
self as the connecting link between orders of men so es- 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


175 


sentially repulsive of each other, as Mr Wilson in this 
instance. 

Omnis Aristippum decuit color et status, et res: 

From the learned president of his college, Dr Routh, 
the Editor of parts of Plato, and of some Theological Se¬ 
lections, with whom Wilson enjoyed unlimited favour, 
down to the humblest student. In fact from this learned 
academic doctor, and many others of the same class, as¬ 
cending and descending, he possessed an infinite gamut 
of friends and associates, running through every key; and 
the diapason closing full in groom, cobler, stable-boy, 
barber’s apprentice, with every shade and hue of black¬ 
guard and ruffian. In particular, amongst this latter 
kind of worshipful society, there was no man who had 
any talents—real or fancied—for thumping, or being 
thumped, but had experienced some taste of his merits 
from Mr Wilson. All other pretensions in the gymnastic 
arts he took a pride in humbling or in honouring, but 
chiefly did his examinations fall upon pugilism; and not 
a man who could either 4 give’ or 4 take/ but boasted to 
have punished, or to have been punished by Wilson of 
Malleus (corruption of Magdalen).” 

Such was our celebrated Professor of Morals during 
the four years of his youth passed at Oxford. If the 
discipline and restraints of his College permitted so very 
wide a latitude in the course which he then pursued, it 
is not to be wondered at that, when fairly launched on 
the ocean of life, he should for several years have run an 
equally reckless career. Rich to be sure it was in enjoy¬ 
ment—intellectually as well as physically—but wild to a 
degree of extravagance rarely ever surpassed, either in 
the variety of its tastes or in the singularity of its details. 

At the period of his emancipation from College, if an 
Oxonian can ever be said with propriety to be emancipated, 
since he is there so seldom subject to restraint, Mr Wilson 


176 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


was in the full vigour of youth, rich, healthy, and of un¬ 
rivalled intellectual activity. One of his earliest acts was 
of course such as might be expected in a young man thus 
singularly gifted. He purchased a beautiful estate in that 
Eden of English scenery, the banks of Windermere, and 
gave himself up to the full enjoyment of every pleasure 
that imagination could suggest, or that his.fortune could 
command. The name of this property was Elleray, and 
it is described as possessing all the finest features of pic¬ 
turesque beauty that belong to British landscape. To 
give some idea of the manner in which it was enjoyed, 
we shall again quote from the same early friend of the 
Professor, who has so well painted his character as an 
Oxonian :— 

“ This beautiful estate was ornamented by no suitable 
dwelling house at the time when it was purchased by Mr 
Wilson. There was, indeed, a rustic cottage, most 
picturesquely situated, which, with the addition of a 
drawing-room thrown out at one end, was made for the 
present (and as it turned out for many a year to come,) 
capable of meeting the hospitable system of life adopted 
by its owner. But, with a view to more ample and 
luxurious accommodation, even at that early period of his 
possession (1808), Mr Wilson began to build a mansion 
of larger and more elegant proportions. The shell, and 
perhaps the greater part of the internal work, was soon 
finished ; but for some reasons I never remember to have 
inquired into, it was not rendered thoroughly habitable 
(and consequently not inhabited,) till the year 1825. I 
think it worth while to mention this house particularly, 
because it has always appeared to me a silent commentary 
on its master’s state of mind, and an exemplification of 
his character, both as it was and as it appeared. At first 
sight there was an air of adventurousness, or even of ex¬ 
travagance about the plan and situation of the building ; 
and yet upon a considerate examination, and latterly upon 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


177 


a practical trial of it, I cannot see that within the same 
dimensions it would have been possible to have contrived a 
more judicious or commodious house. Thus, for instance, 
the house is planted upon the boldest and most exposed 
point of ground that can be found on the whole estate, 
consequently upon that which might have been presumed 
(and I believe was really reputed,) to be the very stormiest: 
Yet, whether from counteracting screens of wood that have 
been planted in fortunate situations, or from what other 
cause I know not, but undoubtedly at this day no practical 
inconvenience is suffered ; though it is true, I believe, that 
in the earlier years of its history, the house bore witness 
occasionally, by dismal wrecks of roof and windows, to the 

strength and fury of the wind on one particular quarter_ 

Again, in the internal arrangements, one room was con¬ 
structed of such ample proportions, with a view to dancing, 
that the length, as I remember, was about seventy feet ; 
the other dimensions I have forgotten. Now, in this in¬ 
stance, most people saw an evidence of nothing but youth¬ 
ful extravagance, and a most disproportionate attention 
directed to one single purpose, which upon that scale could 
not probably be of very frequent occurrence in any family. 
This, by the way, was at any rate a sensible extravagance 
in my judgment; for our English mode of building tends 
violently to the opposite and most unwholesome extrava¬ 
gance of giving to the very principal rooms of a house the 
beggarly proportions of closets. However the sequel shewed 
that, in providing for one end, Mr Wilson had not lost sight 
of others; for the seventy feet room was so divided by 
strong folding doors, or temporary partitions, as in its custo¬ 
mary state to exhibit three rooms of ordinary proportions, 
and unfolded its full extent only by special and extraordin¬ 
ary mechanism. Other instances I might give in which the 
plan seemed to be extravagant or inconsiderate, and yet 
really turned out to have been calculated with the coolest 
judgment and the nicest foresight of domestic needs. It is 

h 2 


178 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


sufficient to say that I do not know a house apparently 
more commodiously arranged than this, which was planned 
and built with the utmost precipitation, and in the very 
hey-day of a most tempestuous youth. In one thing only, 
upon a retrospect at this day of the whole case, there may 
appear to have been some imprudence, viz. that timber 
being then at a most unprecedented high price, it is pro¬ 
bable that the building cost seven or eight hundred pounds 
more than it would have done a few years later. Allowing 
for this one oversight, the principal house in the Elleray 
estate, which at the time was looked upon as an evidence 
of Mr Wilson’s flightiness of mind, remains at this day a 
lasting monument of his good sense and judgment.” 

In this extract we have at once the description of an ec¬ 
centric undertaking, and an apology for its extravagance.— 
The one is sufficiently characteristic—the other we fear 
will be deemed equivocal at the best. There are, doubtless, 
many allowances to be made for the wild vagaries of youth, 
especially if associated with a sanguine disposition, high 
health, and an ample fortune ; but neither the purchase of 
the Elleray estate, nor the scale of its projected mansion- 
house, were at all to be justified. Large as Mr Wilson’s 
pecuniary means then were, they did not correspond to 
his way of life, nor the extent of his projected improve¬ 
ments, and the best commentary on the folly of the latter is 
to be found in the fact that they were not completed till 
some years after they were begun. Hence it is easy to 
account for the charge of flightiness of mind originally as¬ 
cribed to the design of the mansion—and, on the same 
ground, we may now well doubt the soundness of the 
dictum which pronounces that design a monument of good 
sense and judgment.” 

There is this much, however, to be said for young Wil¬ 
son’s plan of a mansion—it was in fine keeping with his plan 
of life, which at that period, at least, exhibited the most 
varied and conflicting features—combining the grave, the 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


179 


solid, and the gay, with the wild, the ludicrous, and the 
absurd, in a higher degree than perhaps ever marked the 
conduct of a human being. On the banks of Windermere 
he in fact pursued precisely the same wild career that had 
distinguished him while at Oxford. And in evidence of 
this, we need only once more appeal to the narrative of his 
early friend, the letter-writer, from whom we have already 
so liberally quoted. After mentioning the circumstances 
which brought him acquainted with Mr Wilson, he goes on 
to describe their first interview, and the latter’s mode of 
life, as follows :— 

“ My introduction to him—setting apart the introducee 
himself—was memorable from one circumstance, viz. the 
person of the introducer. William Wordsworth it was, who 
in the Vale of Grasmere, if it can interest you to know the 
place, and in the latter end of 1808, if you can be supposed 
to care about the time, did me the favour of making me 
known to John Wilson, or as I might say (upon the Scottish 
fashion of designating men from their territorial pretensions,) 
to Elleray. I remember the whole scene as circumstantially 
as if it belonged to but yesterday. In the Vale of Gras¬ 
mere—that peerless little vale which you and Gray, the 
poet, and so many others have joined in admiring as the 
very Eden of English beauty, peace, and pastoral solitude— 
you may possibly recall, even from that flying glimpse you 
had of it, a modern house called Allan Bank, standing under 
a low screen of woody rocks, which descend from the hill 
of Silver Horn, on the western side of the lake. This house 
had been recently built by a wealthy merchant of Liverpool; 
but for some reason, of no importance to you and me, not 
being immediately wanted for the family of the owner, had 
been let for a term of three years to Mr Wordsworth. At 
the time I speak of, both Mr Coleridge and myself were on 
a visit to Mr Wordsworth, and one room on the ground 
floor, designed for a breakfasting room, which commands a 
sublime view of the three mountains, Fairfield, Arthur’s 


180 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


Chair, and Seat Sandal, was then occupied by Mr Coleridge 
as a study. On this particular day, the sun having only 
just risen, it naturally happened that Mr Coleridge—whose 
nightly vigils were long—had not yet come down to break¬ 
fast ; meantime, and until the epoch of the Coleridgean 
breakfast should arrive, his study was lawfully disposable to 
profaner uses. Here, therefore, it was, that, opening the 
door hastily in quest of a book, I found seated, and in ear¬ 
nest conversation, two gentlemen—one of them my host, 
Mr Wordsworth, at that time about thirty-eight years old; 
the other was a younger man, by at least sixteen or seven¬ 
teen years, in a sailor’s dress, manifestly in robust health— 
fervidus juventa , and wearing upon his countenance a 
powerful expression of ardour and animated intelligence, 
mixed with much good nature. Mr Wilson of Elleray — 
delivered, as the formula of introduction, in the deep tones 
of Mr Wordsworth—at once banished the momentary sur¬ 
prise I felt on finding an unknown stranger where I had 
expected nobody, and substituted a surprise of another 
kind : I now well understood who it was that I saw ; and 
there was no wonder in his being at Allan Bank, as Elleray 
stood within nine miles ; but (as usually happens in such 
cases,) I felt a shock of surprise on seeing a person so little 
corresponding to the one I had half unconsciously prefigured 
to myself.’’ 

In point of personal appearance the Professor, even 
from his boyish days, exhibited a very manly specimen 
of the human form. The writer’s subsequent descrip¬ 
tion represents him then as a tall man, about six feet 
high, within half an inch or so, built with tolerable ap¬ 
pearance of strength, but wearing of course, for the pre¬ 
dominant character of his person, lightness and agility, 
as he was at that period in the very spring-tide and 
blossom of youth. “ Viewed,” continues he, “ by an 
eye learned in gymnastic proportions, Mr Wilson pre¬ 
sented a somewhat striking figure; and by some people 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


181 


he was pronounced with emphasis a fine looking young 
man ; but others, who less understood, or less valued 
these advantages, spoke of him as nothing extraordinary. 
Still greater division of voices I have heard on his pre¬ 
tensions to be thought handsome. In my opinion, and 
most certainly in his own, these pretensions were but 
slender. His complexion was too florid; hair of a hue 
quite unsuited to that complexion ; eyes not good, having- 
no apparent depth, but seeming mere surfaces; and in 
fact, no one feature that could be called fine, except the 
lower region of his face, mouth, chin, and the parts adja¬ 
cent, which were then (and perhaps are now,) truly ele¬ 
gant and Ciceronian. Taken as a whole, though not 
handsome (as I have already said,) when viewed in a 
quiescent state, the head and countenance are massy, 
dignified, and expressive of tranquil sagacity. 

<f Such, in personal appearance, was the young man 
upon whom my eyes suddenly rested, for the first time, 
upwards of twenty years ago, in the study of S. T. Cole¬ 
ridge—looking, as I said before, light as a Mercury to 
eyes familiar with the British build; but with reference 
to the lengthy model of your Yankies, who spindle up so 
tall and narrow, already rather bulky and columnar. 
Note, however, that of this array of personal features, as 
I have here described them, I then saw nothing at all, 
my attention being altogether occupied with Mr Wilson’s 
conversation and demeanour, which were in the highest 
degree agreeable ; the points which chiefly struck me 
being the humility and gravity with which he spoke of 
himself, his large expansion of heart, and a certain air of 
noble frankness which overspread every thing he said ; 
he seemed to have an intense enjoyment of life; indeed, 
being young, rich, healthy, and full of intellectual acti¬ 
vity, it could not be very wonderful that he should feel 
happy and pleased with himself and others ; but it was 
somewhat unusual to find that so rare an assemblage of 


182 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


endowments as he was known to possess, had communi¬ 
cated no tinge of arrogance to his manner, or at all dis¬ 
turbed the general temperance of his mind.” 

Turn we now suddenly and without preparation— 
simply by way of illustrating the versatile humour of the 
man—from this grave and philosophic scene, to another 
first introduction, under most different circumstances, to 
the same Mr Wilson:—“Represent to yourself the ear¬ 
liest dawn of a fine* summer morning, time about half¬ 
past two o’clock. A young man anxious for an introduc¬ 
tion to Mr W T ilson, and as yet pretty nearly a stranger to 
the country, has taken up his abode in Grasmere, and has 
strolled out at this early hour to that rocky and moorish 
common, called the White Moss, which overhangs the 
Vale of Rydal, dividing it from Grasmere. Looking 
southward in the direction of Rydal, suddenly he be¬ 
comes aware of a huge beast advancing at a long trot, 
with the heavy and thundering tread of a hippopotamus 
along the public road. The creature is soon arrived 
within half-a-mile of his station ; and by the grey light 
of morning is at length made out to be a bull, apparently 
flying from some unseen enemy in his rear. As yet, 
however, all is mystery; but suddenly three horsemen 
double a turn in the road, and come flying into sight 
with the speed of a hurricane, manifestly in pursuit of 
the fugitive bull. The animal manages to navigate his 
huge bulk to the moor, which he reaches, and then 
pauses, panting and blowing out clouds of smoke from 
his nostrils, to look back from his station amongst rocks 
and slippery crags upon his pursuers. If he had con¬ 
ceited that the rockiness of the ground had secured his 
repose, the foolish bull is soon undeceived: the horse¬ 
men, scarcely relaxing their speed, charge up the hill, 
and soon gaining the rear of the bull, drive him at a 
gallop over the worst part of that impracticable ground 
down into the level below. At this point of time, the 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


183 


stranger perceives by the increasing light of the morning, 
that the hunters are armed with immense spears fourteen 
feet long. With these the bull is soon dislodged, and 
scouring down to the plain below T , he, and the hunters at 
his tail, take to the head of the lake, and all, in the mad¬ 
ness of the chase, are soon half engulfed in the swamps 
of the morass. After plunging together for ten or fifteen 
minutes, ail suddenly regain the terra Jirma, and the bull 
again makes for the rocks. Up to this moment there had 
been the silence of ghosts ; and the stranger had doubted 
whether the spectacle was not a pageant of aerial spectres, 
ghostly huntsmen, ghostly lances, and a ghostly bull.— 
But, just at this crisis—a voice (it was that of Mr Wil¬ 
son,) shouted aloud, Turn the villain; turn that villain ; 
or he will take to Cumberland.” The young stranger did 
the service required of him ; the villain was turned, and 
fled southwards ; while the hunters, lance in rest, rushed 
after him. All bowed their thanks as they fled past the 
youth; the fleet cavalcade again took the high road ; 
they doubled the cape which shut them out of sight; 
and in a moment all had disappeared, and left the quiet 
valley to its original silence, whilst the young stranger 
and two grave Westmorland statesmen, (who by this 
time had come into sight upon some accident or other,) 
stood wondering in silence, and saying to themselves, 
perhaps—as well they might— 

“ The earth hath bubbles as the water hath ; 

And these are of them !” 

But these were no bubbles. The bull was a substantial 
bull; and took no harm at all from being turned out oc¬ 
casionally at midnight for a chase of fifteen or eighteen 
miles. The bull, no doubt, used to wonder at this 
nightly visitation; and its owner must sometimes have 
pondered a little on the draggled state in which the 
swamps would now and then leave his beast j but no 


184 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


other harm came of it. And so it happened, and in the 
very hurly burly of such an unheard of chase, that my 
friend was fortunate enough, by a little service, to re¬ 
commend himself to the notice of Mr Wilson. And thus 
passed the scene of his Jirst introduction.” 

Having quoted so choice a specimen of the eccentrici¬ 
ties which marked the earlier period of the Professor’s 
career, we might here dismiss the subject with the trite 
and convenient ex uno disce omnes ; but the portraiture 
would not be complete unless we were to exhibit him in 
a different field, not so ludicrous perhaps, but infinitely 
more imprudent—a field in which he rioted to excess, 
and displayed the most reckless profusion. We shall, 
of course, continue our narrative from the same graphic 
authority. 

A sailing club had been established in Windermere, 
by whom I never heard,” says the letter-writer, “ but very 
probably by Mr Wilson himself. At all events he was the 
leader and soul of the confederation ; and he applied 
annually nothing less than a little fortune to the maintenance 
of the many expenses which arose out of it. Amongst the 
members of the club there were more than one who had far 
larger fortunes than Mr Wilson could ever have possessed ; 
but he would permit no one to outshine him on this arena. 
The number of his boats was so great as to comprise a little 
fleet; and some of them, of unusually large dimensions for 
this lake, had been built, at an enormous expense, by re¬ 
gular builders brought over expressly from the port of 
Whitehaven (distant from Elleray about forty-five miles,) 
and kept during the whole progress of their labour at a 
most expensive Laker’s hotel. One of these boats in par¬ 
ticular, a ten-oared barge, which you will find specially in¬ 
troduced by name in the Professor’s Tale of The Forresters, 
(vide page 215,) was generally believed at the time to have 
cost him at the least five hundred pounds. And as the 
number of sailors which it required to man these boats 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


185 


was necessarily very great, at particular seasons, and as 
the majority of these sailors lived, during the period of 
their services, with little or no restraint upon their ex¬ 
penses, at the most costly inn in the neighbourhood—it 
may be supposed, very readily, that about this time Mr 
Wilson’s lavish expenditure, added to the demands of ar¬ 
chitects and builders, seriously injured his patrimonial pro¬ 
perty. In fact, he had never less than three establishments 
going on concurrently for some years ; one at the town or 
village of Bovvness (the little port of the Lake of Winder- 
mere), for his boatmen; one at the Ambleside Hotel, about 
five miles distant, for himself; and a third at Elleray, for 
his servants, and his own occasional resort with his friends. 
It is the opinion of some persons that about this time, and 
during the succeeding two years, Mr Wilson dissipated the 
main bulk of his patrimony in profuse expenditure. But 
more considerate people can see no ground for that opinion. 
His expenses, though great, were never adequate to the di¬ 
lapidation of so large an estate as he was reputed to have 
inherited; and the prevailing opinion is, that some great 
loss of £20,000 at a blow, by the failure of some trustee or 
other, was the true cause of that diminution of his property 
which, within a year or two of this time, he is generally 
supposed to have suffered. However, as Mr Wilson himself 
has always maintained an obstinate silence on the subject, 
and as the mere fact of the loss (however probable,) is not 
more accurately known to me than its extent, or its parti¬ 
cular mode, or its cause, I shall not allow myself to make 
any conjectural speculations on the subject. It can he in¬ 
teresting to you and me only from one of its consequences, 
viz. its leading him afterwards to seek a Professorship ; for 
most certain it is that, if the splendour of Mr Wilson’s 
youthful condition, as to pecuniary matters, had not been 
in some remarkable degree overcast, and suffered some 
signal eclipse, he would never have surrendered any part of 
that perfect liberty which was so dear to him, for all the 


186 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


honours and rewards that could have been offered by the 
foremost Universities in Europe.” 

Such was Professor Wilson in his youth, and such were 
the causes which ultimately led to an entire change of his 
views in life; converting at once the scapegrace of fortune, 
and the votary of pleasure, into a teacher of Morals, and a 
Professor of Philosophy. Whether the decay of his means 
was owing to waste and extravagance, or to the bankruptcy 
of a trustee, as conjectured by his friends, we shall not stop 
to enquire. It is enough that the result proved eminently 
useful to the literature of his country, and perhaps not less 
so to himself; for of Mr Wilson, as of the ancient Grecian, 
it may almost be said, that “ if he had not been ruined, he 
would certainly have been undone.” A few years more of 
the life which he led during the earlier portion of his career 
must inevitably have sent him to drink the waters of Ache- 
ron. As things are, he finds himself, after a long editorial 
reign, the “ observed of all observers” in the world of letters, 
and by universal consent one of the most eminent men of 
his time. 

When Mr Wilson was in the hey-day of fortune, his 
ardent temperament led him to form various schemes for the 
occupation of his future life—very different indeed from 
that which necessity afterwards imposed upon him. Among 
others, he projected an extensive plan of foreign travel. 
His first design was to penetrate into central Africa, for the 
purpose of visiting Timbuctoo, and solving the problem of 
the course of the Niger. The second was a joint plan con¬ 
certed with two friends, and which was nearly as follows :— 
From Falmouth, by one of the regular packets, they were 
to have sailed to the Tagus ; and, landing wherever acci¬ 
dent should allow them, to purchase mules—hire Spanish 
servants—and travel extensively in Spain and Portugal for 
eight or nine months ; then, by such of the islands in the 
Mediterranean as particularly interested them, they were 
gradually to have passed into Greece, and thence to Con- 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


187 


stantinople. Finally, they were to have visited the Troad, 
Syria, Egypt, and perhaps Nubia ! Wild as it may now 
appear, this extensive scheme was seriously resolved upon, 
and but for the sudden occupation of Spain and Portugal 
by the French, would certainly have been carried into exe¬ 
cution. Another event however, occurred in Mr Wilson’s 
life about that time, which rendered it still more necessary 
for him to dismiss all such projects from his mind.— 
This was his union with a young English lady, of great 
beauty and accomplishments, and who, it has been said, 
brought him a portion of £10,000. The marriage took 
place in 1810. Two sons and three daughters were the 
fruits of it—and from all accounts the connection proved to 
be the happiest event in the Professor's life. 

It was in 1820 that Mr Wilson became candidate for the 
chair of Moral Philosophy which he now fills. He had a 
competitor opposed to him*, who, independent of his high 
literary merit, had the voice of the public in his favour. 
This necessarily gave rise to a fierce exhibition of party 
spirit during the whole time that the nomination remained 
undecided. Mr Wilson of course suffered severely—but 
whether justly or unjustly we shall not pretend to de¬ 
termine. A friend of his own, while writing on the 
subject, acknowledges that he had made himself ene¬ 
mies; u whether,” says he, “ by any unjustifiable violences, 
and wanton provocations on his own part, I have no means 
of knowing. In whatever way created, however, these 
enemies now used the advantages of the occasion with 
rancorous malignity, and persecuted him at every step 
with unrelenting fury. Very different was the treatment 
he met with from his competitor in the contest. In that 
one circumstance of the case, the person of his competitor, 
he had reason to think himself equally fortunate and unfor¬ 
tunate—fortunate, that he should be met by the opposition 


* Sir William Hamilton. 



1S8 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


of a man whose opposition was honour—a man of birth, 
talents, and high breeding, a good scholar, and for extensive 
reading and universal knowledge of books, the Magliabecchi 
of Scotland : unfortunate, on the other hand, that this ac¬ 
complished opponent, adorned by so many brilliant gifts 
that recommended him to the contested office, should 
happen to be his own early and highly valued friend. The 
particular progress of the contest, and its circumstances, I 
am not able to state. In general I have heard in Edinburgh 
that, from political influences which governed the course of 
the election, the conduct of the partisans on both sides was 
intemperate, personal, and unjust; whilst that of the prin¬ 
cipals, and their immediate friends, was full of forbearance 
and generosity. The issue was, that Mr Wilson carried the 
Professorship. Any little coolness which must naturally 
have succeeded to so warm a contest, has long since passed 
away; and the two rival candidates have been for many 
years restored to their early feelings of mutual esteem and 
regard.’ 

The history of Mr Wilson’s life, since his appointment to 
the Chair of Philosophy, is familiar to all who are in the 
least acquainted with literary affairs. Indeed, it is almost 
identical with the history of letters and criticism in this 
country during the last thirteen years. This necessarily 
arises from his connection with Blackwood’s Magazine, at 
once a critical journal and the principal organ of a powerful 
political party in the state. Though not openly avowed, 
his Editorship has never been openly contradicted. He is 
entitled of course to both the merit and the odium which 
its exercise implies. How the duties of the office have 
been discharged is known to all the world. We shall 
therefore offer no comment on them here. It is sufficient 
to observe, that if the Professor unhappily sports political 
doctrines at variance with the spirit of the times, and 
deals too largely in personal satire, he amply atones for 
these defects by having established a new era in periodical 


JOHN WILSON, ESQ. 


189 


writing. The Magazine has long held the most distin¬ 
guished rank in that class of publications, and in point of 
literary talent it has from first to last supported a character 
that stamps it the most acute and classical journal of the 
age. 

It only remains to notice Mr Wilson’s character as an 
author, in which, curiously enough, he is far less admired 
than as an Editor. Though his “ Isle of Palms” and “ City 
of the Plague” are admitted by the critics to be admirable 
emanations of real genius, they are by no means popular. 
The same may be said perhaps of his works of fiction in 
prose—his Lights and Shadows of See 4 i«b Life,” and 

The Trials of Margaret Lindsay”—but it is difficult to 
assign a reason for this, since they unquestionably appeal to 
the best feelings of our nature, and powerfully awaken all 
the finer sympathies of the heart. It has been attempted 
to be explained by one of his own friends—Mr Lockhart 
we believe—who seems to think that he has tried his powers 
on too many subjects to have been able to make a decided 
hit in any one field. His opinion is, that if Mr Wilson 
had devoted his powers to a single literary effort, corres¬ 
ponding to the grasp of his mind and the variety of his attain¬ 
ments, he would have been infinitely more successful as an 
author, and that he has only failed because he has not suf¬ 
ficiently concentrated the various talents with which he is so 
richly gifted. In this way, it is also remarked, that his very 
facility has been injurious—not so much to his fame indeed, 
as to the popularity of his works. Qualified to handle every 
subject, and handling many well, he knows that he may 
touch all or any that may strike his fancy without proving 
absolutely dull; but that very circumstance has rendered him 
careless in his choice of a field on which to display all the 
energies of his mind. It is to be hoped, however, that this 
will not always he said of him, and that hereafter, as Mr 
Lockhart further remarks, “ the works which he has already 
published may be referred to rather as curiosities, or as dis- 


190 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


playing the early richness and variety of his capacities, than 
as expressing the full vigour of that ‘ imagination all com¬ 
pact/ which shall then have found more perfect and more 
admirable vehicles in the more comprehensive thoughtfulness 
of matured genius and judgment.” 

DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

This county may be said to consist almost entirely of 
ranges of mountains, with the vallies which lie between 
them. The precipitous and rugged summits of some of 
the former, are more than 3000 feet above the level of the 
sea, and, for several months in the year, they are covered 
with snow. The vallies, however, afford excellent pasture 
for sheep, and in some districts the arable land is excellent, 
yielding wheat crops equal to those of the carse lands of the 
Lothians. > 


DUMBARTON CASTLE. 

The rock of Dumbarton, crowned with the embattled 
walls of its ancient fortress, forms certainly the most pic¬ 
turesque and most interesting object on the Clyde. It is 
situated on a point of land at the confluence of the Leven 
with the Clyde, the waters of which wash its base on the 
south and west sides, and is distant from Glasgow, about 
fifteen miles. The surrounding country, presents a perfectly 
level plain of some miles in extent, from which this singular 
and insulated rock rises to a height of 650 feet above the 
sea. It is of a conical shape, but the top is separated into 
two parts by a deep ravine, which crosses it from south to 
north. The entrance to the castle, is at the south-east base 
of the rock, near the water ; and stairs have been constructed 
in the ravine we have mentioned, by which the summit can 
be reached. Batteries are placed at various heights ; and 
on a small level piece of ground between the two summits, 





LOCH LOMOND 


DUMBARTON CASTLE &c 


VIEW ON CLYDE 








































































DUMBARTON CASTLE. 


191 


barracks have been erected for the garrison, and magazines 
for arms and ammunition. The view from the top is ex¬ 
ceedingly grand, commanding an extensive tract of country 
on the Clyde, as well as the beautiful vale of the Leven, 
with its pure stream meandering through it. Also the 
town of Dumbarton ; and in the distance Benlomond, with 
the surrounding hills and mountains. 

Dumbarton has been a place of considerable importance 
in very early times. Under the name of Alcluith, it was the 
capital of the Strath Clyde Britons ; and here likewise stood 
the ancient Theodosia, a naval station of the Romans, when 
they had possessions in this country. It is obvious also, 
that it is the Balclutha of Ossian’s poems. “ I have seen 
the walls of Balclutha,” says Fingal, in the poem of Car- 
thon, “ but they were desolate. The fire had resounded in 
the halls ; and the voice of the people was heard no more. 
The stream of the Clutha was removed from its place by the 
fall of the walls. The thistle shook here its lonely head; 
the moss whistled to the wind. The fox looked out from 
the windows: the rank grass of the walls waved round its 
head. Desolate is the dwelling of Morna, silence is in the 
house of her fathers.” In 726, this town was attacked by 
Egbert, king of Northumberland, and Oangus, king of the 
Piets, and the Britons were obliged to submit to terms. 
From the annals of Ulster, it appears that it was burnt in 
779 ; and in 869, it was again destroyed by the Daci or 
Norwegians, and Danes from Ireland. In later times, we 
find the castle a principal stronghold of the Earls of Lennox ; 
but in 1238, it was resigned into the hands of Alexander II. 
by Baldwin, third Earl of Lennox, after which it became a 
royal fortress. It was the last spot in Scotland, which held 
out for Queen Mary after her dethronement, and her flight 
into England. 

During the war with France, under Napoleon, this castle 
was fixed upon as an appropriate place of confinement for 
one of the French Generals, taken prisoner after having 


192 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


broke his parole. His name was Simon, and he was 
esteemed by the French Emperor as a very able officer. 

VIEW ON CLYDE. 

This beautiful view is taken from Dalnotar Hill, a rising 
ground near the village of Kilpatrick, about eight miles 
below Glasgow. The river is here of consideiable breadth, 
its shores are highly cultivated, and a little way inland the 
ground rises into ranges of mountains. On a point of land 
which stretches from the right into the middle of the picture 
is seen the old Castle of Dunglas, now a total ruin ; while the 
grey rock of Dumbarton Castle towers magnificently in the 
distance. Deep hays, and jutting promontories give variety 
to the shores; and towns, villages, and country seats of 
noblemen and gentlemen add interest and beauty to the 
scene. This is justly considered one of the most picturesque 
views in Scotland. 


LOCH-LOMOND. 

This lake, one of the most picturesque in the world, 
is distant about twenty miles from Glasgow and six from 
Dumbarton. It lies principally in Dumbartonshire, hut 
the county of Stirling hounds a portion of its eastern 
shore. It is nearly thirty miles long, and at its southern 
end eight or ten miles broad; at the middle, however, 
and towards the northern extremity its breadth is in some 
places less than a mile. At the south end it seldom ex¬ 
ceeds sixty feet in depth, hut north of Luss it increases 
to two hundred or three hundred and sixty feet. Thirty 
islands of different sizes are scattered over its surface, 
some of which rise to a considerable height, and most of 
the larger ones are finely wooded. Of these Inch Murrin, 
upwards of a mile and a half long, is used as a deer 
park by the Duke of Montrose; and Inch Lonaig, about 


EMINENT MEN IN DUMBARTONSHIRE. 


193 


one mile long, is used for the same purpose by Sir James 
Colquhoun of Luss. 

The waters of Loch-Lomond are said to have increased 
considerably during the lapse of ages ; and in Camstradden 
bay, more than a hundred yards from the shore, the ruins 
of houses are alleged still to be visible beneath the water. 
At one time this lake was famed for three wonders —“ waves 
without wind, fish without fins, and a floating island.” 
These wonders, however, like many others of a more 
superstitious kind have now disappeared. Ben-Lomond, 
the highest mountain in this district, is three thousand 
two hundred and forty feet in height above the level of the 
sea. 

EMINENT MEN IN DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland, and Dr Tobias 
Smollett, the celebrated Novellist, Poet, and Historian, are 
the most distinguished worthies of Dumbartonshire. The 
former is said to have been born in the parish of Kilpatrick; 
so named from that circumstance. By one account, his 
father is described as a presbyter, and his grandfather as 
a deacon, but he being carried captive to Ireland, was there 
sold to one of the petty princes of the country, who employed 
him for some time as a swine herd. A different account of 
his emigration is given, however, in the fabulous traditions of 
the monkish period. The devil being provoked by his sanctity 
and success in preaching the gospel, sent a band of witches 
to annoy the Saint: accordingly these faithful auxiliaries 
of satan fell upon him so furiously, that he was forced to 
seek safety in flight. Finding a little boat upon the Clyde 
he leapt into it, and set off with all speed for Ireland. The 
witches are said, in their rage at his escape, to have torn an 
enormous rock, from a neighbouring mountain, which they 
hurled after him with deadly purpose. They missed their 
aim however ; the ponderous mass fell harmless, and it stands 

i 


194 . 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


to this hour a monument of their wrath and the Saint’s good 
luck, in the shape of Dumbarton Castle ! 1 

Dr Tobias Smollet, whose works will go down to the 
latest posterity, was born in the house of Dalquhurn, an old 
high mansion, the ruins of which stood till within these few 
years at Renton, on the banks of the Leven, nearly mid- 
way between Loch-Lomond and Dumbarton. He was the 
grandson of Sir James Smollet of Bonhill, Baronet, a gentle¬ 
man of considerable property in this county, a member of the 
last Scottish Parliament, and a commissioner in framing the 
Union. A monument to the memory of Dr Smollet has been 
erected near the village of Renton, on the banks of his native 
stream. It is a lofty pillar of the Tuscan order, on which 
there is an elegant and nervous inscription, the joint pro¬ 
duction of Professor George Stuart, of Edinburgh, John 

Ramsay, Esq., of Ochtertyre, and the celebrated Dr Samuel 
Johnson. 


STIRLINGSHIRE. 

The greatest length of this county from east to west is 
foity-nine miles, its greatest breadth twenty-three. It oc¬ 
cupies the centre of the country between the Friths of Forth 
and Clyde, and therefore descends north and south towards 
those streams, being highest in proportion to its distance 
from each 


STIRLING CASTLE. 

This castle, like that of Edinburgh, surmounts the western 
extremity of a lofty ridge of rock, which is there abruptly 
precipitous. The town of Stirling, like a portion of the old 
town of Edinburgh, stands on the ridge where it slopes 
down from the castle towards the river Forth. There is no 
tradition as to when the town or castle was originally 
built, but in every age of our national records, the latter 



Bny? onSteeZ 1/tj ff WLron, 











































































' 












» 
























*> 

► 

■ 


■ 






■ 















STIRLING CASTLE. 


195 


has been a place of the utmost importance. From the 
castle-hill may he seen, at different distances, the scenes of 
the most sanguinary contests which have occurred in Scot¬ 
tish history. About the middle of the twelfth century, it 
would appear to have been the abode of royalty. David I. 
kept his court here ; and it long continued to he the favourite 
residence of the Scottish monarchs. It still contains many 
remains of royal magnificence. The palace is of course the 
principal object of attraction, though now converted into a 
barracks: its inside is without any form or regularity > 
hut externally it is very richly and curiously ornamented 
with grotesque figures upon pillars or pedestals, each of 
which, again, is supported by a figure lying on its breast. 
The unfortunate James III. was very fond of this palace, and 
made it the chief place of his residence. He built a large hall for 
the assembling of his nobles, and the meetings of parliament, 
which is still called the parliament house. It was a hundred 
and twenty feet long, had a gallery, and was richly orna¬ 
mented with carved work; but it has been stripped to the 
bare walls and converted into an armoury. In the reign of 
Queen Anne the castle was repaired, enlarged, and a flank¬ 
ing battery called Queen Anne’s battery, was erected on 
the south side.; but since that period little has been done 
to it. 

EMINENT MEN IN STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Among the worthies of this county, the most conspicu¬ 
ously eminent are George Buchanan, the celebrated Poet 
and Historian, and John Napier of Merchiston, the inventor 
of the Logarithms. The former was horn at a place called 
the Moss, on the hanks of the Blaine, in the parish of Killearn. 
The house was taken down only a few years ago, and there 
is a handsome monument to his memory at the village of 
Killearn, about two miles from the place of his birth. Napier 
was born near the Pot of Gartness, in the south-western part 


196 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


of the county, where the remains of the old family mansion 
are still standing. Here he passed much of his time in the 
prosecution of those mathematical studies which led to the 
discoveries that have since so much benefited mankind. The 
great Kepler dedicated his Ephemerides to Napier, and, in 
the scientific world at least, the latter was justly thought to 
be the greatest man of his age. 

LINLITHGOWSHIRE. 

The county of Linlithgow, or West Lothian, is of no 
great extent; its medium breadth from south to north being 
little more than seven miles, and its length only about six¬ 
teen. It has in general a northern or north-eastern exposure, 
towards the Forth, from which it rises gradually to the south 
and south-west, till it overlooks the vale of Clyde. The 
surface of this county has a waving and irregular aspect, 
but exhibits in every quarter a variety of rich and pleasing 
scenery. 


LINLITHGOW. 

This royal burgh is about sixteen miles distant from 
Edinburgh, on the road to Glasgow by Falkirk. It consists 
of one irregular street, running from east to west about three- 
fourths of a mile in length, with several lanes and a row of 
gardens on the north and south sides of the town. Many 
of the buildings bear marks of great antiquity, and are now 
hastening to decay. Opposite to the Town-house there is 
a spacious piece of ground, where the Cross once stood, and 
where the principal well or fountain still stands. This is a 
curious relic of antiquity worthy of preservation. Its ap¬ 
pearance is singular and fantastical, the water being made to 
pour at different heights, out of the mouths of various figures 
of animals carved in stone. 


LINLITHGOW PALACE. 


197 


Having been at one time a favourite residence of the 
Scottish kings, Linlithgow was formerly a place of consider¬ 
able trade, opulence, and splendour; but since the union of 
the crowns, and especially since the junction of the king¬ 
doms, it has miserably declined. It had an exclusive right 
of trade from the water of Crammond to the mouth of the 
Avon; and Blackness was specially assigned as its port. 
Vessels with foreign commodities frequently arrived here, 
and from thence they exported the productions of the town 
and surrounding country. Tanning of leather and making 
of shoes are now the principal employments in Linlithgow ; 
but linen-printing, brewing, distilling, and bleaching are car¬ 
ried on in the vicinity. 

LINLITHGOW PALACE. 

This ancient abode of royalty is now the most remark¬ 
able object to be seen in the town. It stands on a rising 
ground running into a small lake on the south side of the 
burgh: a situation which could scarcely fail to be pleasing. 
When viewed from the north, the ground on which it stands 
has the appearance of an amphitheatre, having a descent on 
three sides and terrace walks on the west. On the site of 
the present ruin, Edward I. of England erected a fort or 
castle where he resided a whole winter. After the accession 
of the Stewart family to the throne, it became a fixed royal 
residence, and various queens of Scotland had it settled on 
them as a jointure house. The original palace of Edward 
I. was burnt in 1J24; but by whom it was rebuilt is not 
known. It was a favourite residence of James IV.; and 
he, as well as James V. and VI., ornamented it greatly. It 
is at present a magnificent ruin, most of it five stories high 
and covering nearly an acre of ground. Within the palace 
there is a handsome square, one side of which is more mo¬ 
dern than the rest, having been built by James VI. The 
building was kept in good repair till the year 1766, when 


198 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


being used as a barracks by the king’s troops it was acci¬ 
dentally set on fire by them. In one of the other sides of 
the square there is a room ninety feet long, thirty feet six 
inches wide, and thirty-three feet in height; at one end of 
which is a gallery with three arches, most probably intended 
for musicians. In this palace Queen Mary was born on the 
8th December, 1542. 

KINROSS-SHIRE. 

Kinross is a small inland county lying in the middle of 
the extensive peninsula which is formed by the Friths of 
Forth and Tay. It is of nearly a circular form ; its length 
from east to west is about eleven miles and a quarter; its 
breadth from north to south about ten miles. Excepting 
where the Leven issues from the loch of that name, it is 
entirely bounded by hills which descend towards the centre 
of the county, forming what is called the vale of Kinross. 

LOCH-LEVEN CASTLE. 

This castle, which is now in ruins, stands on an island, 
of about two English acres in extent, in the middle of the 
loch from which it receives its name. It is of great but 
unknown antiquity, although report says it was founded by 
Congal son of Dongart, king of the Piets. It consists of a 
square tower or keep, which stands at the north-west corner of 
the outer wall; and a lesser round tower at the south-east. 
The whole is surrounded by a stone wall, forming nearly a 
square enclosure or court. In the lower part of the great 
tower is a dungeon with a well in it, and above this is a 
vaulted room which seems to have been the kitchen. Over 
this there were formerly three stories containing the baronial 
hall and sleeping apartments. 

It was in this castle that the unfortunate Mary Queen of 
Scots was confined after her separation from Bothwell at 


FIFE. 


199 


Carberry Hill. She had surrendered herself a prisoner 
there, and was immediately consigned to the custody of 
the wife of Douglass of Loch-Leven. Under this woman, 
who was the mother of Murray, the natural son of James 
V., and afterwards Regent, she suffered all the hardships of a 
rigorous confinement. She was compelled to sign an in¬ 
strument, resigning the crown in favour of her infant son, 
and appointing Murray regent. After languishing in this 
secluded fortress for months, she made her escape through 
the aid of George Douglas, the brother of her keeper, a 
youth of eighteen, who it is said had been captivated by her 
great beauty. On a Sunday evening, while Douglas the 
keeper was at supper, and the rest of the family at their de¬ 
votions, one of the accomplices of the young Douglas stole 
the keys of the castle, and opening the gates, the queen and 
one of her attendants, under the protection of her youthful 
lover, went into a boat and soon reached the opposite shore. 
They locked the gates of the castle behind them, and threw 
the keys into the lake, to prevent pursuit. The queen was 
received at the shore of the lake by Lord Seaton, Sir James 
Hamilton, and a few attendants. She instantly mounted 
on horseback and rode full speed towards Niddrie, the seat 
of Lord Seaton in East Lothian, where she rested three 
days, and then set out for Hamilton, where she was soon 
surrounded by many friends and adherents. The battle 
of Langside, which was fought immediately afterwards, for 
ever threw a shade over the brief period of hope which her 
escape had created to herself and her friends. 

FIFE. 

This county lies on the eastern coast of Scotland ; and 
forms a peninsula, having the Frith of Forth on the south, 
and the Frith of Tay on the north. Its climate is in ge¬ 
neral temperate and friendly to vegetation, and the extent 
of its surface is considerable. The extreme length of the 


200 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


county from the parish of Saline to Fifeness, is upwards 
of sixty miles; and from Kinghorn to Newburgh, it is 
upwards of thirty miles in breadth. 

THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. ANDREW’S. 

This ancient ruin stands near the town of St. Andrew’s, 
immediately above the rocky beach, which protects the 
east coast of Fife from the billows of the German Ocean, 
It was begun by Bishop Arnold, in 1161. He died the 
same year, and the work seems to have proceeded very 
slowly, as it was not completed till the year 1318, under 
Bishop Lamberton. It was long the metropolitan church 
of all Scotland. Its figure was that of a cross church; its 
length from east to west being three hundred and seventy 
feet; the transepts which crossed it, three hundred and 
twenty-two feet. Of this magnificent structure nothing 
now remains above ground but fragments of the east and 
west ends ; the south wall of the choir, measuring a hun¬ 
dred and eighty feet in length, and thirty feet in height ; 
and a wall at right angles to the choir, which most pro¬ 
bably formed part of the south transept. With the ex¬ 
ception of these remains, the cathedral was demolished in 
June 1559 by a mob, whom the eloquence of the reformer 
John Knox had excited to the pious or enthusiastic labour 
of demolishing the retreats of idolatry and popish super¬ 
stition. 


DUNFERMLINE AND ABBEY. 

The royal burgh of Dunfermline stands three miles 
from the shore of the Frith of Forth, and is sixteen miles 
distant from Edinburgh. It is a town of considerable 
manufactures ; and has long been remarkable for the 
weaving of diaper or table-linen, in which the workmen 
excel. Here table cloths are made of almost any length. 



ST ANDREW'S CATHEDRAL 



DUNFERMLINE 



CASTLE CAMPBELL 


J&uj?on-SlcrZ Iry II fc-7.- 






































♦ 

* 


f 
























DUNFERMLINE AND ABBEY. 


201 


breadth, and fineness; and any motto, device, or coat of 
arms which may be wished is wrought into them. The 
incorporation preserves, as a specimen of native ingenuity, 
a man’s shirt wrought in the loom, about a hundred years 
ago, by a weaver in Dunfermline, called Inglis. The 
shirt has no seam; and every thing was completed 
without aid from the needle, excepting a button for the 
neck. 

The Abbey of Dunfermline, was a monastery of Bene¬ 
dictine monks. It was begun by Malcolm Canmore, 
and finished by Alexander the Fierce. It was famous 
for being at one time the burial place of royalty, and 
among other Scottish kings interred here, was the cele¬ 
brated patriotic monarch, Robert Bruce. After the Re¬ 
formation, this circumstance was only known by tradition; 
for although a splendid monument had been erected over 
his grave, no vestige of it remained. In 1818, however, 
when workmen were digging amid the ruins of the choir, 
for the foundation of a new parish church about to be built, 
they came upon a stone erection, which was obviously 
the tomb of some person of consequence. On opening it 
the coffin appeared to be entirely decayed, but a skeleton 
was found enveloped in lead. A circlet of lead in form 
of a crown, was placed around the head, and from the 
shreds remaining, it was obvious that the body had been 
originally wrapped in cloth of gold. The situation of the 
grave, which was immediately in front of where the high 
altar had at one time stood, led at once to the supposition 
that the resting-place of the Bruce had been discovered; 
and this was confirmed by a small plate being afterwards 
discovered among the rubbish with the inscription upon 
it of Robertus Scotorum Rex. This had been no doubt 
the plate on the top of the coffin. The grave was imme¬ 
diately shut up, and notice sent to the Barons of Ex¬ 
chequer ; a day was afterwards fixed when it was again 
opened in their presence, and that of many individuals of 

i 2 


202 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


eminence in science and literature. The skeleton having 
been examined and measured, drawings and casts were 
taken of it. The breast bone was found sawn through, an 
operation necessary to have been performed in taking out 
the heart, which was sent with the good Sir James Douglas 
to the Holy Land. No doubt remained in the mind of any 
one, that after a lapse of nearly five hundred years the 
grave of Bruce had been found, and that.the bones of the 
patriot lay before them. They were now placed in a new 
coffin which was filled with melted pitch; and the whole 
being again laid in the earth, a strong building of brick 
was erected over them. 

EMINENT MEN IN FIFE. 

Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, Lord Lyon King 
at Arms in the reign of James V., resided near Cupar. 
His early efforts in favour of the doctrines of the Reform¬ 
ation are well known, and his plays and poems, coarse as 
they now seem, must have had a powerful effect in 
bringing the catholic clergy into ridicule with the people. 
Michael Scott, the Friar Bacon of Scotland, was born in 
Kirkaldy. He lived in the thirteenth century, and by 
his attainments in science, contributed to break the deep 
gloom which overshadowed that benighted age. He pur¬ 
sued with success the study of languages, belles lettres, 
and mathematics at Rome, and afterwards travelled into 
France where he resided several years. From France he 
went to Germany, and lived some time at the court of 
the Emperor Frederick II. In Kirkaldy was also born 
Dr Adam Smith, the enlightened author of the Inquiry 
into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 
and of the Theory of Moral Sentiments—a man equally 
estimable for his virtues and his talents—and not the least 
brilliant star in that galaxy of genius which adorned Scot¬ 
land at the close of the last century. 


CASTLE CAMPBELL. 


'203 


CLACKMANNANSHIRE. 

This small county is bounded on the south-west by 
the river Forth, which divides it from Stirlingshire; on 
the north-east by Fife; and in the other quarters by 
Perthshire. It is of very limited extent, containing al¬ 
together only about thirty thousand seven hundred and 
twenty English acres. 

CASTLE CAMPBELL. 

These ruins are situated above the village of Dollar, 
within a recess of the Ochil mountains. Their situation 
is wild and inaccessible. The rock or mount on which 
they stand, is insulated partly by nature, and partly by art. 
On either hand are deep ravines with steep banks sloping 
down from the moss-grown walls; and in the bottom of 
the glens flow rivulets which form beautiful cascades, 
and unite immediately after they pass the castle. On 
one side only is the mount connected with the adjoining 
grounds, and here there is a deep moat over which at one 
time there was no doubt a draw-bridge. The early his¬ 
tory of the castle or the period of its construction are 
unknown. It was originally called the Castle of Gloom ; 
but having become the property of the noble family of 
Argyll so far back as 1465, the name was changed to 
Castle Campbell. It was the usual residence of Archibald 
Earl of Argyll at the period of the Reformation; and here 
John Knox found a refuge, and was allowed to preach. 
In 1644 it was burned by Montrose, since which time it 
has never been inhabited. The great tower is still toler¬ 
ably entire, but the rest of the works are hastening fast 
to decay. 


204 . 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


PERTHSHIRE. 

This county is divided into a number of different dis¬ 
tricts in popular language, though unknown in law ; but 
it is naturally divided into the two districts of Highland 
and Lowland. The vast chain of Grampian mountains 
runs along the northern and north-western part of the 
county, and they occupy a large portion of its area. The 
northern part of these mountains forms the southern 
boundary of the Highlands of Scotland; and the territory 
to the south-east of this is considered as belonging to the 
Lowlands. Eighteen parishes of the county are High¬ 
land, and fifty-eight Lowland; but those in the High¬ 
lands are of great extent, and some of them cover a tract 
of country equal to eight or ten parishes in the lower and 
more fertile districts. 


PERTH. 

Perth, the shire town and a royal burgh, is situated 
in a peculiarly beautiful spot, on the west banks of the 
river Tay. It is one of the handsomest towns in Scot¬ 
land, and is built on a regular plan. The river is navig¬ 
able for sloops and small craft, but in spring-tides 
vessels of considerable burden sometimes come up to the 
town. Over the Tay there is a handsome bridge which 
cost £25,000. The new town contains some fine streets, 
the houses in which are built with great neatness and 
elegan ce. 

Perth was anciently a place of great importance, and 
at one time reckoned the capital of the Scottish kingdom. 
Agricola, at a much earlier period, led his army into this 
district; and it is said that when the Roman soldiers first 
saw the Tay, and the plain on which Perth is now situated 






IBny^on. Sbxl Ay H . 


LOCH CATHERINE 


PASS OF KILLIECRANKIE 


DUNKELD 












LOCH KATRINE. 


205 


they cried, “ Ecce Tiber ! Ecce Campus Martius;” be¬ 
hold the Tiber, behold the field of Mars, comparing what 
they saw to their own river, and the great plain in the 
neighbourhood of Rome. 

LOCH KATRINE. 

This much frequented lake lies in the Highland dis¬ 
trict of the county, about ten miles west from Callender, 
and forty-eight north-west from Glasgow. It is impossible 
to conceive a succession of more sublime or imposing 
scenery than is here displayed. Nature seems to have 
assumed her wildest and most romantic aspect. Moun¬ 
tains and lofty rocks appear to have been thrown around 
in the rudest form ; while trees and shrubs, which adorn 
some of them to their very summits, give variety, grace, 
and even beauty, to portions of the scenery. 

The Trosachs, which are situated at the east end of the 
lake, form the chief point of attraction to strangers. This 
portion of the scenery, says Dr Graham, “ beggars all 
description. Such an assemblage is there of wildness 
and rude grandeur, as fills the mind with the most su¬ 
blime conceptions. It seems as if a whole mountain had 
been torn in pieces and frittered down by a convulsion of 
the earth; and the huge fragments of rocks, woods, and 
hills, scattered in confusion for two miles into the east 
end and the sides of Loch Katrine.” 

This district has been exceedingly attractive of late 
years, in consequence of its forming the scenery of Sir 
Walter Scott’s beautiful poem of The Lady of ilie Lake ; 
in which it is described with all the graphic truth and 
elegance so characteristic of the poet’s muse— 

“ So wond’rous wild, the whole might seem 
The scenery of a fairy dream.” 


206 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND, 


PASS OF KILLIECRANKIE. 

This celebrated pass is situated among the Grampians 
in the north-eastern part of Perthshire. Lofty mountains 
impend over it; and the river Yarry rushes below in a 
dark, deep and rocky channel, overhung with trees 
growing out of the clifts of the rock. The river is mostly 
invisible to the traveller, who hears only its deafening 
roar; and where it is seen, the waters appear pouring 
over a precipice into a deep pool covered with foam, and 
forming a scene of dreadful magnificence. 

Even so late as the last century this was a pass of great 
difficulty and danger; a narrow footpath hanging over a 
tremendous precipice threatened destruction to the tra¬ 
veller from the least false step. The Hessian soldiers, 
who formed part of the royal army that was defeated here 
by Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, in 1674, 
refused it is said, to advance through the pass, conceiving 
they were going beyond the limits of the civilized world. 
There is now a fine road, formed by the military, which 
gives an easy access to this part of the Highlands; and at 
the extremity of the defile, the opposite sides of the river 
are united by a handsome bridge. 

DUNKELD. 

This town stands on the north bank of the Tay, about 
fifteen miles from Perth, and at the entrance to the High¬ 
lands. It is a burgh of barony, and is governed by a baron- 
bailie, appointed by the Duke of Athol. In the scenery 
with which it is surrounded, the finest objects for the 
landscape painter are combined; and the improvements 
of the Duke of Athol, conducted on an extensive scale 




















ABERBROTHOCK ABBEY 


DUNNOTTAK CASTLE 


.Ro!/. ty Jl tULsgn. 


BERTH 

























































ABBEY OF ABERBROTHOCK. 


207 


and with great taste, have given an additional ornament 
to nature. 

Dunkeld is a place of great antiquity; it was at one 
time the capital of ancient Caledonia; and about the 
dawn of Christianity, a Pictish king made it the seat of 
religion by erecting there a monastery of Culdees, which 
David I., in 1130, converted into a bishopric, and ranked 
as the first in Scotland. The ruins of the ancient cathe¬ 
dral form the most important object in the town. It has 
once been a splendid building, though now much dila¬ 
pidated. The choir has been converted into a parish 
church, but the nave and aisles are in ruins. The central 
tower is still standing. 

FORFARSHIRE. 

Forfarshire, or Angus, lies upon the east coast of 
Scotland to the north of the Frith of Tay. The extent 
of the whole county, from the eastern coast to the Gram¬ 
pians, is about forty-eight miles; and from Mount Petie, 
on the borders of Perthshire, to the mouth of the North 
Esk river, about forty-two miles. 

ABBEY OF ABERBROTHOCK. 

This Abbey, now a venerable ruin, stands near the 
town of Aberbrothock, or Arbroath, near the mouth of 
the river Brothock, where it falls into the German Ocean. 
It was founded by William the Lion, and dedicated to 
the memory of Thomas a Becket, the celebrated Arch¬ 
bishop of Canterbury. Here the founder was interred, 
but there are no remains of his tomb. This monastery 
was one of the richest in the Island, and its abbots often 
the first churchmen in the kingdom. The monks were 
of the Tyronensian order, and were brought from Kelso. 
The Abbey of Arbroath enjoyed great and uncommon 


208 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


privileges ; and there is a charter still extant from King 
John of England, under the Great Seal of that kingdom, 
by which the monastery and citizens of this place are ex¬ 
empted from taxes in every part of England, except 
London and Oxford. 

Here the parliament was held under Robert Bruce, in 
which the celebrated manifesto was addressed to the Pope, 
remonstrating against the hardships Scotland suffered 
from lying under the anathemas of his holiness, and from 
the invasions of Edward I.; a manifesto unequalled, 
considering the time in which it was written, for its de¬ 
termined spirit, its sentiments in favour of liberty, and the 
just principles of international law which it maintains. 

The ruins of the Monastery are strikingly picturesque. 
They consist of ruinous towers of the most solid construc¬ 
tion, columns overthrown and broken in pieces, Gothic 
windows, cloisters, staircases, &c.; all exhibiting marks 
of the ravages of time, or the frenzy of religious zeal. 
It has been built of a red stone found in the neighbour¬ 
hood, which seems to have been ill calculated to resist 
the weather. The ornamented parts exposed to the wea¬ 
ther are therefore much defaced, and the carvings can 
hardly be distinguished. 

KINCARDINESHIRE. 

This county stretches along the coast from the bay of 
Aberdeen to the South Esk river, about thirty miles ; 
and from Dunottar Castle to Mount Battach, its greatest 
breadth is nearly twenty miles. The eastern termination 
of that mighty barrier of ancient independence, the 
Grampians, is situated at the north-eastern corner of this 
county, forming a bold promontory or headland, called 
the Girdle-ness ; and presenting an abrupt face of rock 
from sixty to eighty feet in height. 


DUNOTTAR CASTLE. 


209 


DUNOTTAR CASTLE. 

This ruin stands upon the east coast, on a rock which 
projects boldly into the sea, accessible from the land on 
the west side only by a narrow, steep, and winding path, 
over a deep gully which connects it with the mainland. 
A gate in the wall, about forty feet high, gives entrance 
into the Castle. From thence, a long passage, partly 
arched over, leads to another gate pierced with four eye¬ 
lets or loop-holes; after which the area of the Castle is 
entered. This area measures about an English acre and 
a quarter. The long passage was anciently defended by 
two iron portcullises, but these are now removed. An 
embattled wall surrounds the area, and within it there 
are a variety of buildings of different ages. The oldest of 
these, with the exception of the chapel, is a square tower 
said to have been built about the latter end of the four¬ 
teenth century. 

About the year 1296, this Castle was taken by Sir 
William Wallace, who, according to Blind Harry, burned 
four thousand Englishmen in it. In 1336, it was reforti¬ 
fied by Edward III. in his progress through Scotland; 
but it. was retaken by Sir Alexander Murray of Bothwell, 
guardian of the kingdom, as soon as Edward retired— 
During the civil wars it was besieged by the Marquis of 
Montrose, and the church burnt. 

In 1661, the English army having reduced all the 
other friths and places of strength in Scotland, a body of 
troops under General Lambert sat down before Dunottar, 
which was of the greater consequence that it was known 
to contain the Regalia. In November of that year they 
summoned it to surrender, and repeatedly afterwards in 
the course of the winter. In May following they turned 
the siege into a blockade. Ogilvie, the commander, refused 


210 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


to surrender for a long time, but at length the garrison 
being reduced to great straits from famine, a mutiny- 
broke out among them, and he was forced to yield.— 
Some time previously, however, he had by stratagem re¬ 
moved the Regalia from the Castle. Mrs Grainger, wife 
of the minister of KenneifF, had requested permission 
from the besiegers to visit Mrs Ogilvy, the lady of the 
governor, which she at once received. In returning she 
had the crown wrapt among some clothes, and brought 
it away in her lap; while her servant followed, carrying 
the sceptre and sword upon her back hid in a bag of flax. 
The English general very politely assisted Mrs Grainger 
to mount her horse after she had left the castle, little 
conceiving that she was about to ride off with that, which 
it was the object of their long siege to obtain. 

In consequence of this, Ogilvy was long kept a prisoner 
in England. The Regalia in the meantime was concealed 
sometimes under the pulpit in the church of KenneifF, and 
at other times in a double-bottomed bed in the manse, till 
the Restoration, when they w T ere delivered to Mr Ogilvy, 
who restored them to Charles II. For this good service 
Mr Ogilvy was made a baronet, and Sir John Keith, 
brother to the Earl Marischal, was created Earl of Kin- 
tore. Honest Mr Grainger and his wife, however, who 
had so long carefully, and at great hazard to themselves, 
preserved the insignia of Royalty, received neither mark 
of honour nor token of gratitude ; so unequally is desert 
rewarded under an aristocratical system of government. 

During the persecutions in the reigns of Charles II. 
and his brother James, Dunottar Castle was converted 
into a prison for the Covenanters. Many of them were 
confined in it at the period of Argyll’s rising, and not a 
few died from the severity of their treatment. The dun¬ 
geon in which they were immured is still called the 
Whigs’ vault. 


ABERDEENSHIRE. 


211 


EMINENT MEN IN KINCARDINESHIRE. 

Among the ancient worthies of this county, one of the 
most distinguished is John Fordoun, the author of the 
Scotichronicon, one of the most authentic early histories of 
Scotland. It also gave birth to the late Lord Monboddo, 
an upright Judge, and well known in the literary world by 
his writings on ancient metaphysics, and on the origin and 
progress of language. Dr Arbuthnot, physician to Queen 
Anne, and a distinguished literary coadjutor with Pope 
and Swift, was born in the parish of Arbuthnot. He 
was son to Alexander Arbuthnot, minister of the parish, 
who was deprived in 1689 for non-conformity. Dr Ar¬ 
buthnot received the rudiments of his education here, 
and afterwards, with his brother Robert, who became a 
banker in Paris, removed to the Marischal College of 
Aberdeen about 1680, 

ABERDEENSHIRE. 

There are few counties in Scotland that possess more 
natural advantages than Aberdeen. It is admirably si¬ 
tuated, being washed on the east and north by the ocean, 
which affords a ready intercourse with the regions round 
the Baltic, the German coast, Holland, Flanders, and 
France ; and on the south and west it is bounded by the 
rich and thriving counties of Perth, Forfar, Kincardine, 
Banff, Elgin, and Inverness. Though about a fifth part 
of it consists of lofty mountains, yet a large portion of its 
surface is richly clothed with wood; and it is every 
where intersected by rivers that are equally advantageous 
to commerce, agriculture, and the fisheries. The extreme 
dimensions of Aberdeenshire are eighty-five miles in 
length from east to west, and forty in breadth from north 
to south. 


212 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ABERDEEN 

In point of extent and importance this is the principal 
city of the north of Scotland; and is situated upon the 
sea coast, betwixt the mouths of the rivers Don and Dee. 
It is divided into two distinct municipal jurisdictions, 
called New and Old Aberdeen, each of which has a sepa¬ 
rate magistracy, and a separate and distinct University. 

Aberdeen is of great antiquity. Tradition assigns 
importance to it so early as the ninth century. In 1004 
Malcolm II. founded a bishoprick at Mortlech, in Banff¬ 
shire, in memory of a victory obtained over the Danes ; 
which bishoprick was translated to Old Aberdeen by 
David I.; and in 1163, the then Bishop of Aberdeen 
obtained a new charter from Malcolm IV. There is also 
extant a charter of Alexander II. by which the king 
grants to Aberdeen the same privileges he had granted 
to his town of Perth. The burgh records are preserved 
from the time of William the Lion, who died in 1214; 
and the journals of the successive Magistrates and Town 
Councils, from the year 1398, are almost complete. 

The existing remains of antiquity are the chief orna¬ 
ments of the Old Town. A great part of the ancient 
Cathedral is still in fine preservation. It consists of the 
nave, and two lofty spires of stone, which are used as the 
parish church. This edifice was dedicated to St. Machar, 
or Macarius, after whom the parish is named. Its erec¬ 
tion was begun by Robert Bruce, and completed in 1522 
by Bishop Dunbar. The University of Old Aberdeen, 
founded by Bishop Elphinston in 1492, and a College, 
called King’s College, soon afterwards endowed in it, 
are also buildings of great interest and beauty.— 
They contain Professorships of Divinity, Medicine, Civil 
Law, Moral Philosophy, Mathematics, Natural Philoso- 




Kny d'an. Steel by It. HtZrerv 








































































































I '■ t • 












EMINENT MEN IN ABERDEENSHIRE. 


213 


phy, Greek, Humanity, and Oriental Languages; be¬ 
sides numerous bursaries or exhibitions for poor students. 
The New Town likewise enjoys an University called 
Marischal College, founded in 1593, and endowed by 
George Earl Marischal. This foundation has a good li¬ 
brary, containing about 10,000 volumes ; a museum, a 
complete observatory, and a very large apparatus for de¬ 
monstrating the principles of mechanical philosophy.— 
Almost every branch of knowledge is taught here to 
great perfection. 

Aberdeen, however, is now chiefly important as a mari¬ 
time and manufacturing town; and as it possesses a safe 
and spacious harbour, it affords great facilities to com¬ 
merce. Upwards of four hundred vessels belong to the 
port, engaged either in the foreign or coasting trade, 
and a considerable portion of them in the whale fishery. 
Its manufactures consist chiefly of woollen, linen, and 
cotton, in all their different stages. But there are also 
manufactures of steam engines, iron cables and anchors, 
nails, cordage, and all sorts of materials connected with 
ship-building, which is itself carried on to a considerable 
extent. There are likewise several iron-founderies, and 
various breweries, which produce not less than forty 
thousand barrels of malt liquor annually. The exports 
are grain, salmon, woollen, cotton, and linen goods, and 
upwards of 20,000 tons of granite yearly for paving the 
streets of London. In short, there is scarcely a town in 
Scotland that, in proportion to its extent and population, 
exhibits more striking symptoms of commercial and ma¬ 
nufacturing enterprise than Aberdeen. Its wealth and po¬ 
pulation have rapidly increased during the last thirty years. 

EMINENT MEN IN ABERDEENSHIRE. 

To characterize all the worthies that have done honour 
to Aberdeenshire, would far exceed the limits of this 


214 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


work. It may be sufficient to remark that, anciently, 
Boethius taught philosophy, as first Principal of King’s 
College, and that, latterly, the Marischal College was en¬ 
lightened by the pure metaphysics of Reid, the ablest of 
the opponents of Hume. The celebrated Arthur John¬ 
ston, only second in Latinity to Buchanan, was born in 
the parish of Keith-hall, and held office in the University. 
The late eminent lawyer and statesman, Sir James 
MTntosh, was also a native of Aberdeenshire. 

INVERNESS-SHIRE. 

A very extensive county, stretching across the whole 
breadth of Scotland from the eastern to the western seas. 
It comprehends a number of districts, such as Lochaber, 
Glenelg, Badenoch ; and many inferior divisions, as Glen- 
gary, Glenmoriston, Glenshiel, 8cc. A considerable por¬ 
tion of the Western Isles are annexed to it. The main¬ 
land, excluding the isles, extends in length from the 
point of Arisaig on the west coast, to the point of Ar- 
dersier on the east, about ninety-two miles; and its 
greatest breadth is nearly fifty miles. 

INVERNESS. 

This town takes its name from the river Ness. It is a 
royal burgh of great antiquity, having received its first 
charter from Malcolm Canmore. The charter has been 
renewed by several successive monarchs, and latterly by 
James VI., when the constitution of the burgh was settled. 
The town is governed by a Provost, four Bailies, a Dean 
of Guild, Treasurer, Town Clerk, and a Council of 
twenty-one members. It is large and well built, and be¬ 
sides being the shire town is the capital of the Highlands. 
In the High Street, nearly in the centre of the town, 
stands the Court House, connected with the Tolbooth; 


MORAYSHIRE. 


215 


a modern building with a fine tower surmounted by a 
handsome spire. The academy is an elegant building, 
provided with a rector and four masters; by whom 
science and literature are skilfully taught. The harbour 
is safe and commodious, allowing vessels of two hundred 
tons to unload at the quay, and vessels of five hundred 
tons may ride in safety in the Moray Frith within a mile 
of the town. 

EMINENT MEN IN INVERNESS-SHIRE. 

Macpherson, the celebrated translator of the poems of 
Ossian, was a native of Kingussie in this county. So was 
the brave and generous Cameron of Lochiel, the firmest 
but most disinterested supporter of the rebel cause in 
1745. In the parish of Killmalie stood Auchnacarie, the 
family seat of this romantic Highland chief, who, after 
being wounded at Culloden, retired to France where he 
died in 1748. 


MORAYSHIRE. 

The county of Moray proper, or Elgin as it is some¬ 
times called, extends about forty-two miles in length, 
and its average breadth is about twenty. It rests on a 
northern exposure ; its upper part towards the south is 
rugged and barren, and consists of a portion of that very 
mountainous region which forms the head of the shires of 
Aberdeen, Banff, and Perth ; but as it descends towards 
the north, the country becomes level and more susceptible 
of cultivation. In point of fertility and value, the low 
land of this county is not inferior to that of any of the 
adjoining districts. It is intersected by numerous streams 
and rivers, the principal of which are the 8pey, the 
Findhorn, and the Lossie. 


216 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


ELGIN. 

This royal burgh is the county town of Morayshire. 
It has a very pleasant site on the banks of the small river 
Lossie, which discharges itself about two miles below into 
the German Ocean. The earliest charter in the archives 
of the town is from Alexander II., in the year 1234, by 
which he grants to the burgesses of Elgin, a Guild of 
Merchants, with as extensive privileges as any other 
burgh enjoys in Scotland. In 1632, Charles I. established 
and confirmed all the grants of his royal predecessors in 
favour of the burgh ; and the set or form of its govern¬ 
ment was ratified by the Convention of Royal Burghs in 
1706. At the mouth of the Lossie, is a small village 
called Lossiemouth, belonging to Elgin. Only a small 
number of fishing boats belong to it; but its harbour 
has been made convenient to receive vessels of eighty tons 
burden, a considerable number of which enter it annu¬ 
ally, and from hence grain is shipped to Leith and 
Grangemouth. 


ELGIN CATHEDRAL. 

The most remarkable object connected with the town 
of Elgin is its ancient Cathedral, the ruins of which still 
remain. The seat of the bishoprick of Moray was ori¬ 
ginally at Spynie ; but it was translated to this place at 
the request of the Chapter, and King Alexander II. A 
bull for the purpose was obtained from Pope Honorious, 
in 1224. Bishop Andrew Murray is said to have laid 
the foundation stone of the new cathedral on 19th July ? 
1324. After it had stood a hundred and sixty-six years 
from the date of its foundation, it was burned down in 
the year 1390, by Alexander Stuart, Lord of Badenoch, 


ELGIN CATHEDRAL. 


217 


commonly called, from his ferocious disposition, the Wolf 
of Badenoch, son of King Robert II. 

The piety and wealth of the Bishops succeeded, after a 
series of years, in rebuilding it with renewed splendour; 
in which state it remained till the beginning of the six¬ 
teenth century, w hen the great steeple in the centre fell. 
The year after that calamity Bishop Forman began to re¬ 
build it, but it was not founded till 15S8, when the 
height of the tower and spire was a hundred and ninety- 
eight feet. 

“ This church,” says Shaw, in his History of Moray, 
f< when entire, was a building of Gothic architecture in¬ 
ferior to few in Europe ; it stood due east and west, in 
form of a passion or Jerusalem cross, ornamented with 
five towers, whereof two parallel stood on the west 
end, one in the middle, and two on the east end. Be¬ 
twixt the two towers on the west end was the great 
porch or entrance.” This entrance is twenty-four feet 
wide at the base, and the same in height; it is ornamented 
with numerous pilasters, with a pointed arch at the top. 
Above the entrance is a pointed window nineteen feet in 
breadth, and twenty-seven feet in height. In the eastern 
end there is a row of fine windows two feet broad and 
ten feet high, above w r hich there is a row' of five win¬ 
dows, seven feet in height; and above these an oriel or 
circular window, ten feet in diameter. As in all Gothic 
churches, a double tier of windows in each of the side 
walls, gives light to the body of the building. The grand 
entrance, the different porches, the pillars, the projecting 
table, the pedestals, cordons, &c., are all ornamented 
with varied carvings, representing foliage, fruits, and 
other devices. 

The chapter-house, which is attached to the north wall 
of the church, is a curious and splendid piece of archi¬ 
tecture. It is in form, an exact octagon, thirty-four feet 
in height, and within the walls thirty-seven feet in 

K 


218 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


breadth. It is arched and vaulted above, and the roof is 
supported by a pillar in the centre, nine feet in diameter. 
Seven windows, one in each of its several sides, with the 
exception of that which connects it with the body of the 
church, give light to the interior. 

Of this splendid church, only the ruins remain. The 
great tower and spire in the centre are now entirely gone. 
The spires on the two west towers have fallen, but the 
towers remain; the two eastern turrets are still entire. 
The walls of the choir and the chapter-house are still 
tolerably complete; but those of the nave and transepts 
are mostly fallen down. This Cathedral was destroyed 
in 1567, for the sake of the lead that covered the roof, 
by an order of council, to support the soldiery of the 
Regent Murray. 

DARNAWAY CASTLE. 

Darnaway, or Tarnaway Castle, the seat of the Earls 
of Moray, of the Randolph, Dunbar, Douglas, and Stuart 
race, is situated in the parish of Dyke and Mog. It is a 
venerable pile, nobly elevated, and having an extensive 
range and variety of prospect. The oldest and most re¬ 
markable part of the building is the Baronial Hall, erected 
by the great Randolph, Earl of Moray, the friend of the 
immortal Bruce, the protector of his son David II., and 
Regent of Scotland during that king’s minority. The hall 
is said to have been erected by the Earl, during the time 
he was Regent, for the reception of the numerous vassals 
who attended his court. After all the changes, which, 
in the lapse of ages, it must have undergone, it is still a 
noble monument of ancient hospitality and magnificence, 
and is certainly the most perfect specimen of a Baronial 
Hall existing in Scotland. At one end was the battery, 
and above, a music gallery extended from side to side.— 
There was a large chimney at the opposite end, and 










Ert‘f on Jfae/ hy H 


FIXDLATOR CASTLE 


DARN AWAY CASTLE 


CALDER CASTLE 































































FINDLATER CASTLE. 


219 


another at two of the sides. The roof is supported by 
diagonal couples and rafters of massy oak, having an ex¬ 
ceedingly superb appearance, and resembling that of the 
Parliament House of Edinburgh. The length of this 
noble hall is eighty-nine feet, its breadth thirty-five, and 
its height originally about thirty feet. Here is still to be 
seen the Earl’s hospitable board of thick oaken plank, 
standing on six pillars, and curiously bordered and in¬ 
dented ; his oaken chair, too, on which are coarsely carved 
the emblems of his office, and his arms. A number of 
modern apartments have been added to the hall, and older 
portions of the building removed by subsequent lords.— 
The castle is still kept in repair by the Earl of Moray, 
who has servants here, and occasionally visits it. 

BANFFSHIRE. 

The length of this county from the bay of Cullen in a 
south-west direction to Loch Avon, its southern termin¬ 
ation, is fifty miles. It preserves an average breadth of 
nearly twenty miles, till within five miles of that lake, 
where it is suddenly compressed into a breadth of little 
more than three miles. The whole, except the tract 
along the sea shore, may be very properly described as 
a hilly, mountainous country, interspersed with a great 
many fertile valleys, well adapted both for cultivation 
and pasturage. 


FINDLATER CASTLE 

Stands near the town of Cullen, on a high rock called 
the Castle Hill, which projects into and in part overhangs 
the sea. It is of great antiquity, and, in 1455, it was 
strengthened and increased by Sir Walter Ogilvie, who re¬ 
ceived license from James II., to add a tower and fortalice. 
It continued in possession of the family of Gordon, during 


220 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


the rebellion against Queen Mary. About the year 1562, 
however, the Queen invested it both by sea and land, and 
reducing it, restored it to the right heirs. The ruins of a 
house are still shown here, in which it is said Elizabeth, 
Queen of Robert Bruce, died. 

EMINENT MEN IN BANFFSHIRE. 

Dr. Alexander Geddes, author of an able version of 
the Bible, and for many years well known in London as a 
poet, a satirist, and a critic, was a native of the parish of 
Ruthven in this county. He was a man of powerful mind, 
hut of some eccentricity; the peculiar cast of his mind was 
perhaps never more strikingly evinced than in the reason 
he assigned for his choice of a particular spot for his grave 
in Paddington church-yard. “ I choose this spot,” said lie, 

“ that, when summoned from my grave, to meet my God on 
high, the first thing which may strike my sight on looking 
up, may be that noble inscription in front of the church : 
Glory to God in Heaven, and peace and good will to men 
on earth.” The celebrated astronomer, James Ferguson, 
was also born in this county, and forms one of the most 
remarkable instances which Scotland has afforded of genius 
rising from obscurity and indigence to honour and affluence, 
by the force of talents combined with persevering industry. 
The same may be said of Dr. Thomas Ruddiman, who was 
a native of Boyndie, and not less eminent as a grammarian 
than Ferguson was as an astronomer. His Latin Rudiments 
are well known, and his edition of several Classics, especi. 
ally Livy, are held in the highest estimation. As a critic 
and a Latin scholar, he was unrivalled in his own time. 

NAIRNSHIRE. 

This small county lies on the shore of the Moray Frith, 
to the west of the shire of Elgin, and forms a part of the 


CALDER CASTLE. 


221 


ancient province of Moray. Exclusive of the hilly part of 
the district, it may be described as a narrow border of 
level ground along the shore, from one to nearly six miles 
in breadth. 


CALDER CASTLE. 

This venerable and rather gloomy edifice, which has now 
no inhabitants except a person who keeps it, and legions 
of rooks and daws who build amid its lofty turrets, derives 
a strong interest from having been the residence of Macbeth, 
and the place from which he derived his second title. It 
stands on an eminence which overhangs the river Calder, 
and is entered by a draw-bridge laid across a deep chasm.— 
Mrs Grant of Laggan, who visited it, says, “ we saw some 
good paintings, and tapestry frightfully fine ; for Pharaoh 
was there driving so furiously after the Israelites, and the 
Red Sea rushing so fiercely upon Pharaoh, that you start 
back instinctively not knowing which to fear most. Small 
gothic ‘ windows that admit no light, and passages that 
lead to nothing,’ or at most to a small dark room, with a 
heavy thick door, strengthened with iron; these and re¬ 
sounding dusky halls, and narrow winding stair-cases, give 
no very high idea of the enjoyments of the virtuous and 
stately dames who wrought tapestry here in the days of 
gloomy grandeur and perpetual hostility. You are shown, 
in a very high tower, the self same bed in which Duncan of 
pious memory, was murdered by Macbeth. It was brought 
from Inverness on the demolition of the castle there.— 
From the battlements of the castle,” continues this lady, 
“ you see in the hack ground, a thick forest, old beyond 
history or memory, and solemn beyond imagination.— 
Tremendous rugged rocks appear emerging from the wood ; 
on one side you see the chasm and draw-bridge; on the 
other the river Calder, dark in its colour, and devious in its 
course, howling, groaning and boiling through a rocky 


222 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


channel, worn into many dismal pits and cauldrons; at the 
foot of that rock on which the house stands, it is so deep 
and dark, that it dizzies one to look down from the tower. 
In short, the gloomy pools below, and pendant branches 
above, might almost tempt a love-sick maiden, or a fog-sick 
Englishman to hanging or drowning. There is a wide view 
towards the sea, including the heath where the weird sisters 
announced the fatal career of successful ambition to Mac¬ 
beth.” This heath is distant only a few miles from Calder 
Castle. 


THE 

LAST ILLNESS, DEATH, AND FUNERAL, 

OF 

SIR WALTER SCOTT. 

Since the preceding sheets of this work were put to 
press, Scotland has had to lament the loss of her darling 
minstrel, her brightest, her most beloved son; and the 
grave has closed over the mortal remains of him whose 
name was enshrined in every heart, and known in every 
land, whose genius spread a halo of glory over the liter¬ 
ature of his country, and whose fame will descend to re¬ 
motest time. In his own simple but graphic language, 
we have already given a sketch of the earlier portion of 
his literary career. We now subjoin, as an appropriate, 
though melancholy supplement to our previous details, 
the following interesting particulars by his ingenious 
friend, Mr Allan Cunningham, extracted from a Biogra¬ 
phical Memoir, written for the Athenaeum , and published 
in that able literary journal on the 6th of October, 1832. 



SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


223 


In 1826 Sir Walter paid a visit to Ireland, and was 
every where received with enthusiasm. Mr Cunningham 
here states some interesting particulars of this tour, and 
then proceeds thus :—“Soon after his return,that crushing 
misfortune befel the house of Abbotsford, which reduced 
its lord from affluence to dependence. Sir Walter, owing 
to the failure of some commercial speculations, in which 
he was a partner, became responsible for the payment of 
£120,000 ; he refused to become a bankrupt, considering, 
like the elder Osbaldistone of his own immortal pages, com¬ 
mercial honour as dear as any other honour, and under¬ 
took within the compass of ten years, to pay capital and 
interest of that enormous sum. At that time he was hale 
and vigorous, and capable of wondrous exertions ; he 
gave up his house in Edinburgh, now less necessary for 
him on account of the death of Lady Scott, and singling 
out various subjects of interest, proceeded to retrieve his 
broken fortunes, with a spirit calm and unsubdued. The 
bankruptcy of his bookseller rendered longer concealment 
of the author of the Waverley Novels impossible; the 
copyright of these works was announced for sale, and it 
was necessary for the illustrious unfortunate to reveal his 
secret in the best manner he might. Accordingly, at the 
Annual Dinner—24th February, 1827—of the Edinburgh 
Theatrical Fund, in answer to an allusion by his friend. 
Lord Meadowbank, Sir Walter said, he had now the task 
of acknowledging before three hundred gentlemen, a 
secret, which, though confided to twenty people, had 
been well kept. f I am the author,’ he said, f of all 
the Waverley Novels, the sole and undivided author j 
with the exception of quotations, there is not a single 
word which is not derived from myself, or suggested in 
the course of my reading. The wand is now broken, and 
the rod uded.’ This declaration was received with loud 
cheers, and made a stir in all circles; the great mystery 
was now solved, and though all lamented the cause of the 


224 < 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


disclosure, all were glad at heart, to find that they were 
indebted to a man so mild and benevolent as Sir Walter, 
rather than to any other spirit who might have presumed 
more than was meet, after such an assumption of glory.” 

Mr Cunningham here goes on to narrate the subse¬ 
quent efforts made by Sir Walter to retrieve his affairs, 
the anxious and persevering solicitude with which he 
toiled to accomplish the honourable discharge of his 
debts, and the works which he projected to enable him 
to fulfil the great duty which he had thus voluntarily un¬ 
dertaken. The particulars are detailed with the accus¬ 
tomed taste and skill of this delightful biographer; and 
the various works subsequently published by Sir Walter 
are characterised with correct critical acumen. Mr 
Cunningham then resumes his narrative as follows :— 

“ I saw him in London the day after the publication of 
the Fair Maid of Perth: the first romance of all that 
splendid file, to which he had put his name, or at least 
publicly acknowledged. He asked, what I was doing with 
my pen ; I said, at present I am doing nothing but fighting 
and wooing with Harry Wynd. He gave me one of his 
peculiar glances, and said, ‘ Ay ! and how do you like him?' 
I said I was struck with two things, which to me were 
new—the skill with which he had made a blacksmith into a 
hero—and a youth of a martial race, a coward, through his 
nurse. He smiled, and seemed pleased with my remark. 
We talked of romance-writing : f When you wish to write 
a story,’ he said, ‘ I advise you to prepare a kind of out¬ 
line-—a skeleton of the subject; and when you have pleased 
yourself with it, proceed to endow it with flesh and blood.’ 
I remember (I said) that you gave me much the same sort 
of advice before. ‘ And did you follow it?’ he said, quickly. 
I tried (I answered), but I had not gone far on my way till 
some will-o’-wisp or another dazzled my sight; so I devi¬ 
ated from the path, and never got on it again. ‘ ’Tis the 
same way with myself,’ he said, smiling: * I form my plan, 


last illness of sir Walter scott. 


225 


and then in executing it I deviate.’ Ay, ay! (I said) I 
understand; but you deviate into excellence, and I into ab¬ 
surdity. I amused him with an account of how I felt when 
his kind notice of my drama appeared in the i Fortunes of 
Nigel.’ I said I was in the situation of that personage in 
Scripture, who unknown yesterday, heard the people cry 
to-day, ‘ Behold the man whom the king delighteth to 
honour!’ He said some kind things; and then I spoke of 
the public anxiety to see him. I told him, that when he 
passed through Oxford, a lady, at whose house he took 
breakfast, desirous of doing him all honour, borrowed a silver 
tray from her neighbour, who lent it at once, begging to be 
allowed to carry it to the table herself, that she might look 
upon the Author of Waverley. f The highest compliment,’ 
said Sir Walter, f I ever received, was paid me by a soldier 
of the Scots Greys: I strove to get down to Abingdon 
Street on the Coronation day, and applied for help to a 
sergeant who guarded the way: he shook his head, saying, 
‘ Countryman, I can’t help you.’ I whispered my name— 
his face kindled up, and he said, f Then, by G—d, Sir, 
you shall go down !* he instantly gave me an escort. 

le Sometime in the beginning of the year 1831, a sore ill¬ 
ness came upon him : his astonishing efforts to satisfy his 
creditors, began to exhaust a mind apparently exhaustless ; 
and the world heard with concern that a paralytic stroke 
had affected his speech and his right hand, so much as to 
render writing a matter of difficulty. One of his letters to 
me, of this period, is not written with his own hand ; the 
signature is his, and looks cramped and weak. I visited 
him at Abbotsford, about the end of July 1831 : he was a 
degree more feeble than I had ever seen him, and his voice 
seemed affected; not so his activity of fancy and surprising 
resources of conversation. He told anecdotes, and recited 
scraps of verse, old and new, always tending to illustrate 
something passing. He showed me his armoury, in which 
he took visible pleasure; and was glad to hear me com¬ 
ic 2 


226 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


mend the design of his house, as well as the skill with 
which it was built. His heart seemed bound to the place: 
it is said, that he felt more pleasure in being thought the 
builder of Abbotsford, and the layer out of the grounds and 
plantations around it, which certainly seemed most tastefully 
done, than to be thought the author of the Waverley No¬ 
vels. This I am unwilling to believe. Of Abbotsford, and 
its fine armoury and library, he might well indeed be proud : 
they contained presents from the first men of the world, 
either for rank or talent: the collection of volumes relating 
to the history, poetry, and antiquities of Scotland, is exten¬ 
sive. In a small room, half library and half armoury, he 
usually sat and wrote: here he had some remarkable wea¬ 
pons, curious pieces of old Scottish furniture, such as chairs 
and cabinets, and an antique sort of table, on which lay his 
writing materials. A crooked headed staff of Abbotsford 
oak or hazel, usually lay beside him to support his steps as 
he went and came. Those who wish to have a distinct 
image of the illustrious poet, seated at his ease in this snug¬ 
gery, may look at Allan’s portrait lately exhibited; or those 
who wish to see him when, touched with ill health, he felt 
the approach of death, will also, I hear be satisfied: a 
painting is in progress from the same hand, showing Sir 
Walter, as he lately appeared—lying on a couch in his prin¬ 
cipal room : all the windows are closed save one, admitting 
a strong central light, and showing all that the room con¬ 
tains, in deep shadow, or in strong sunshine. 

When it was known that Sir Walter’s health declined, 
the deep solicitude of all ranks became manifest: strangers 
came from far lands to look on the house which contained 
the great genius of our times ; inquirers flocked around, of 
humble and of high degree, and the amount of letters of in¬ 
quiry or condolence was, I have heard, enormous. Amongst 
the visitors, not the least welcome was Wordsworth, the 
poet, who arrived when the air of the northern hills was 
growing too sharp for the enfeebled frame of Scott, and he 


DEATH OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


227 


had resolved to try if the fine air and climate of Italy would 
restore him to health and strength. 

“ When Government heard of Sir Walter’s wishes, they 
offered him a ship ; he left Abbotsford, as many thought, 
for ever, and arrived in London, where he was welcomed as 
never mortal was welcomed before. He visited several 
friends, nor did he refuse to mingle in company, and, having 
written something almost approaching to a farewell to the 
world, which was published with ‘ Castle Dangerous,’ the 
last of his works, he set sail for Italy, with the purpose of 
touching at Malta. He seemed revived, but it was only for 
awhile: he visited Naples, but could not enjoy the high 
honours paid to him : he visited Rome, and sighed, amid its 
splendid temples and glorious works of art, for gray Melrose 
and the pleasant banks of Tweed, and, passing out of Italy, 
proceeded homewards down the Rhine. Word came to 
London, that a dreadful attack of paralysis had nearly de¬ 
prived him of life, and that but for the presence of mind of 
a faithful servant he must have perished. This alarming 
news was closely followed by his arrival in London : a strong 
desire of home had come upon him ; he travelled with fatal 
rapidity night and day, and was all but worn out, when 
carried into St. James’s Hotel, Jermyn Street, by his serv¬ 
ants. As soon as he had recovered a little, he ordered his 
journey to be resumed, and on Saturday, July 7th, 1832, 
departed by sea to Scotland, reached Abbotsford, and 
seemed revived. He recognized and spoke kindly to se¬ 
veral friends ; smiled when borne into his library ; listened 
with patience amounting to pleasure, to the reading of pas¬ 
sages from the poems of Crabbe and Wordsworth ; and was 
always happiest when he had his children around him.— 
When he was leaving London, the people, wherever he was 
recognized, took off their hats, saying, ‘ God bless you, Sir 
Walter !’ His arrival in Scotland was hailed with the same 
sympathetic greetings ; and so much was his spirit cheered, 
that hopes were entertained of his recovery. But the cloud 


228 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


gradually descended unon him ; he grew weaker and weaker 
—and, on the 21st of September, 1832, died amidst his 
family, without any appearance of pain. On his head being 
opened, part of the brain was found injured; several glo¬ 
bules ot a watery nature were pressing upon it. He was bu¬ 
ried at Dryburgh, on Wednesday, September 25th ; the hills 
were covered, and the villages filled with mourners: he was 

borne from the hearse bv his own domestics, and laid in the 

0 , 

grave by the hands of his children.” 

When the news of this great and good man’s death went 
forth, Scotland, as we have already said, bewailed his death 
as a national calamity. The press teemed with tributes of 
grief and eulogy; and nothing was heard on every side but 
the mingled expressions of sorrow, admiration, and praise. 
These testimonies of the homage paid to his merit and his 
genius were not however confined to his own country.— 
Wherever civilization and letters are known, the same sym¬ 
pathy and regret found a vent in the periodicals of the time. 
On the Continent of Europe this feeling was deep and uni¬ 
versal ; nor did it stop there, but travelled over both the 
Old World and the New,— 

“ From Thule’s wintry coast to farthest Ind’.” 

Never before, perhaps, was there so wide and general an 
expression of public feeling for the loss of a merely literary 
man—nor one which more signally demonstrated the pre¬ 
eminent character of his genius and the universality of his 
fame. 

Among the numerous tributary memorials which issued at 
that time from the Scottish press, there was one in Tait's 
Edinburgh Magazine * which described the Funeral Obse- 


* Among the numerous periodicals which have been started of late 
years, this bids fair to become one of the most successful. Its political 
tone is admirably adapted to the times—the principles it advocates being 
ultra-Liberal; while in point of literary merit it is nothing inferior to 
its powerful antagonist, the renowned “ Maga” of Blackwood. 



FUNERAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


229 


quies of the Poet with much graphic effect. Any thing 
pertaining to the memory of so great a man is necessarily in¬ 
teresting, hut the account of this ceremony has peculiar claims 
to our regard. It is from the pen of an eye-witness ; and 
the tone of melancholy regret that runs through its details, 
indicates the writer to have been no ordinary friend. Al¬ 
together it is so pensively descriptive of the occasion, that 
we think we cannot more appropriately close our narrative 
than by quoting it here. After describing the approach 
to the mansion of the deceased Bard, the writer proceeds 
thus :— 

“ When we arrived at the ford, which gave its fancied 
name to the poet’s dwelling, we found the silver Tweed 
sparkling merrily along as if all things were as they were 
wont to be. The young woods before us, and the towers, 
and gables, and pinnacles of the mansion were smiling 
beneath the mellowing rays of the September sun, as if 
unconscious that the master spirit which called them into 
being had for ever fled from them. The sound of wheels 
came on the ear at intervals, rushing from different direc¬ 
tions, and indicating the frequent Arrival of carriages; 
yet when we, availing ourselves of the open doors, had 
taken our well-known way through the garden, and 
passed beneath the Gothic screen that might have vied 
with the Beautiful Gate of the Temple itself, and on into 
the court-yard in front of the house, we were surprised 
to find it deserted and lonely. Before any one came to 
interrupt us, we had leisure to gaze around, and to 
wonder at the great growth of the trees and shrubs since 
we had last beheld them; and as we did so, the venerable 
shade of him who had last walked there with us, filled 
our imagination and our eyes, shifted with them as they 
shifted ; and as it glided around us, it recalled to our full 
hearts a thousand pleasing and touching recollections.— 
But our dreams were at length abruptly broken, by the 
appearance of some of our acquaintances who issued from 


230 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


the house; and the sight of their weeds of wo immediate¬ 
ly recalled our thoughts to the garb of grief which we 
also wore, and to the sad object of our present visit. 

“ Passing through the Gothic hall, we met with no one 
till we entered the library, where we found a consider¬ 
able circle of gentlemen already assembled. These were 
chiefly from the neighbouring districts; but there were a 
few whom we recognised as having come from Edinburgh 
and other places equally distant. Here our visions were 
too much broken in upon by the appearance, and the 
frequent entrance of so many human beings, to permit us 
much indulgence in them. But still there were moments 
when we forgot that we were not alone; and during 
these we wandered back to those happy days when we 
experienced the condescension, the kindness, and the un¬ 
varnished hospitality of him, who, more perhaps than 
any other human being, knew the grand secret of bring¬ 
ing down a great mind to the level of smaller intellects. 
Indeed this, which is with others a very important art 
was with this great man a part of his very nature. It 
was this golden ingredient in the character of Sir Walter 
Scott that made him at all times the most instructive of 
hosts. How did all the tales of our gifted Landlord, 
even those tales with which he seasoned our feast and 
lightened the passing hours, return upon us as memory 
became gradually roused and stimulated by the inani¬ 
mate objects around us! Nay, by degrees, even the 
people in the room were forgotten, and our reverie ran 
on for a brief space of time in one unbroken thread. 
Obscured within the shadow of one of the book-cases, we 
remained ruminating as if we had absolutely been alone, 
until we were interrupted by a summons to the drawing¬ 
room, where certain refreshments were prepared for 
those who had any inclination to partake of them. But 
we must confess our natural antipathy to all such mourn¬ 
ful feasts. We therefore declined to join in this; and 


FUNERAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


231 


after catching, as well as our position near the door 
allowed us to do, a few stray sentences of a prayer 
which was feelingly offered up by the parish clergyman, 
we became so oppressed by the heat of the room, that 
we ventured to steal away to enjoy the air in the porch. 

“ That porch was soon tenanted in our imagination, 
by that venerable ideal image which we have been all 
this while courting to our side. With it we continued 
to hold sacred communion ; with it we looked, as we had 
formerly done with the reality, on the effigy of Maida ;* 
and the harsh truth, that Maida’s master was now as cold 
as Maida itself, went rudely home to our hearts. But 
footsteps came slowly and heavily treading through tlie 
small armoury. They were those of the servants of the 
deceased, who, with full eyes, and yet fuller hearts, came 
reverentially bearing the body of him whose courteous 
welcome had made that very porch so cheerful to us. 
We were the only witnesses of this usually unheeded 
part of the funeral duties. Accident had given to us a 
privilege which was lost to the crowd within. We in¬ 
stinctively uncovered our heads, and stood subdued by an 
indescribable feeling of awe as the corpse was carried 
outwards; and we felt grateful, that it had thus fallen to 
our lot to behold the departure of these the honoured and 
precious remains of Sir Walter Scott, from the house of 
Abbotsford, where all his earthly affections had been 
centered; and which had so long been to him the source 
of so much innocent and laudable enjoyment, that it may 
be matter of speculation, whether the simple pleasures 
which he reaped in the construction of this house and 


* A celebrated stag-hound which Sir Walter Scott received from 
Macdonald of Glengary. This was the eccentric gentleman whose pe¬ 
culiarities attracted so much public notice at one period, and who was 
said at his death to be the last specimen of the genuine Highland Chief¬ 
tain of the feudal times. 



232 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


place, were not greater than any he derived from the 
almost unparalleled celebrity of his name as an author.— 
The coffin was plain and unpretending, covered with 
black cloth, and having an ordinary plate on it, with this 
inscription, ‘ Sir Walter Scott of Abbotsford, Bart., aged 
62.’ £ Alas !’ said we, as we followed the precious casket 

across the court-yard; £ alas ! have these been tile limits 
of so valuable a life ? How many of his contemporaries 
are here; men who were his companions at school ; men 
who have sat with him in boyhood, on the steps of stairs, 
or on walls, listening to his tales of wonder and interest, 
and who yet wear all the appearance of health, and 
strength, and activity, giving promise of years to come 
of extended and enjoyable existence; and that he should 
have been snatched from us at an age so comparatively 
early!’ 

££ Having followed the coffin until we saw it deposited 
in the hearse, which stood on the outside of the great 
gate of the court-yard, we felt ourselves unequal to 
returning into the apartment where the company were 
assembled ; and we continued to loiter about, seeking for 
points of recollection which might strengthen the chain 
of association we wished to indulge in. Our attention 
was attracted, by observing the window of the study 
open, and we were led to look within, impelled by no 
idle or blameable curiosity, but rather like a pilgrim ap¬ 
proaching the shrine where his warmest adoration has 
ever been paid. Our eyes penetrated the apartment 
with a chastened look, such as we should have used if the 
great magician himself had been seated in the chair of 
this his sacred penetralium. The different articles in the 
room seemed to remain much in the same places they 
occupied when we had last seen them. All the little 
circumstances attendant on our last visit to this sanctuary 
of the poet came crowding upon us. Thither Sir Walter 
had conducted us himself; there he had acted the part of 


FUNERAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


233 


our cicerone with all his native wit and playfulness. His 
figure was in our eyes; and his voice, nay, his very 
words were in our ears. But, alas ! the deep tones of the 
venerable old Principal Baird, whose voice was heard in 
earnest and impressive prayer, came upon us through an 
opposite door, from the library beyond; and the affect¬ 
ing allusions which he uttered, again brought us back to 
the afflicting truth, that Sir Walter Scott was gone from 
us for ever! 

The prayer was no sooner ended than the company 
began to issue from the house. The carriages had been 
previously assembled on the haugh below, and were so 
arranged there, that they drove up in a continued line; 
and as each passed the great gateway, it took up its 
owners and then proceeded. There certainly were not 
less than seventy gentlemen’s carriages of all descriptions, 
two-wheeled as well as four-wheeled; besides which 
there were a number of horsemen. The public road runs 
along the face of the hill, immediately above the house, 
in a direction from west to east; and the avenue leading 
from the gate of the court-yard runs up the hill in a 
westerly direction, entering the public road so obliquely 
as to produce a very awkward turn for carriages going 
eastward towards Melrose. Until we had passed this 
point some little way we could form no notion of the 
extent of the procession ; but when we were thus en¬ 
abled to form some judgment of it, we perceived that it 
had extended itself over about a mile of road. 

“ Ere yet we had left the immediate vicinity of the house, 
we discovered a mournful group of women-servants weep¬ 
ing behind the hedge on our left, whither they had hurried 
to take their last look of that hearse which was carrying to 
the grave a kind and indulgent master, whose like they had 
no hope ever to look upon again. There was to us some¬ 
thing peculiarly touching in the grief of this group, for there 
they stood isolated, as it were, in a sorrow, which, arising 


231 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


from so humble a source, bore ample testimony how well he 
had fulfilled even the minutest kindlinesses of life to all with 
whom circumstances had in any way brought him into con¬ 
tact. The elevation of the road on the hill-side was such as 
to give us a full view of the valley, and we could observe 
that the summit of many of the little knolls at a distance, 
even those beyond the Tweed, were covered with small 
clusters of rustic gazers, all intent upon a spectacle equally 
calculated to move persons of every rank and description ; 
and every now and then we found a little knot of spectators 
assembled by the wayside, whose motionless countenance, 
and unbroken silence, sufficiently testified the nature of their 
feelings. 

“ As we approached the neat little village of Darnick, 
our attention was forcibly arrested by a very striking 
token of wo. On the top of an ancient tower, one of 
those, we believe, which Sir Walter has rendered classi¬ 
cal, was placed a flag-staff, from which depended a broad 
black banner of crape, or some other light material. 
There was not a breath of air to stir the film of a gos¬ 
samer, so that light as the material seemed to be, it hung 
heavy and motionless ; a sad and simple emblem, that 
eloquently spoke the general village sorrow. This we 
found more particularly expressed in detail, as we passed 
through the little place, by the many minuter insignia of 
mourning which the individual inhabitants had put on 
the fronts of their houses and shops ; by the suspension 
of all business ; and by the respectful manner in which 
the young and the old, and people of both sexes, stood 
silently and reverently before their respective dwellings, 
wrapt in that all-absorbing sorrow which told how deeply 
he that was gone had rooted himself in their affections.— 
When the hearse drew near to his own Melrose, the bell 
tolled sadly from the steeple of the church, and as we 
entered the street, we saw that here, as well as elsewhere, 
the inhabitants had vied with each other in unaffected 


FUNERAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


235 


and unpretending demonstrations of their individual 
affliction. In the little market-place, we found the 
whole male population assembled, all decently dressed in 
deep mourning, drawn up in two lines, and standing 
with their hats off, silent and motionless. Grief was 
deeply impressed upon every honest countenance; but 
we thought we could observe some, who, from the greater 
intensity of their feelings, might have had some private 
cause to claim a title to a greater poignancy of regret.— 
It is easy to notice this little circumstance which occurred 
in Melrose, but no one who did not witness it can fully 
appreciate the overwhelming effect it produced on those 
who were present. For ourselves, we must freely con¬ 
fess that our manhood was completely overthrown by it; 
and we do not envy the iron nerves of those, who, forming 
part of such a procession, could have passed unmoved 
between those two lines of decent, and decorous, and 
heart-stricken mourners. We looked with extreme in¬ 
terest towards the Abbey. It seemed in our eyes, that 
in common with all animated nature, it had been en¬ 
dowed on this occasion with a soul and with intelligence 
to hail the melancholy pageant which wound away from 
it, and to grieve that its holy soil was to be denied the 
sad honour of receiving the ashes of its poet. A mild 
light, streamed over the Eildon hills, and fell softly on 
the ruined pile. We might have fancied that his spirit 
was hovering over this his own dearest spot, and smiling 
a last farewell to it. 

“ The effect of the procession when crossing the fly 
bridge over the Tweed, and still more when winding 
around that high and long sweep of the road which is 
immediately opposite to the promontory of old Melrose, 
was extremely striking and picturesque ; and the view 
looking back from the high ground towards the Eildon 
hills and Melrose, over the varied vale of the Tweed, till 
the eye was arrested by the distant mountains, then seen 


236 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


under a rich Claude effect; and the devious course of the 
river, betrayed by fragments of water that sparkled here 
and there amid the yellow stubbles and green pastures, 
was exquisitely beautiful. But nothing gave so much 
interest to this glorious scene as the far-off woods of Ab¬ 
botsford, then dimmed by the warm haze, and melting, 
as it were, from their reality,, and so reminding us even 
yet more forcibly of the fleeting nature of all the things 
of this perishable world. 

“ Having descended from our elevation, we entered 
the grounds of Dryburgh. These occupy a comparatively 
level space, embraced by a bold sweep of the Tweed, 
where the house of Dryburgh, and the picturesque ruins 
of Dryburgh Abbey, standing about two hundred yards 
distant from it, are surrounded by groups of noble trees 
of all sorts, rare as well as common ; and among them the 
cedar is seen to throw out his gigantic limbs with that 
freedom and vigour which could only be looked for on 
his native Lebanon. The hearse drew up close to the 
house of Dryburgh ; and the company having quitted 
their carriages, pressed eagerly towards it. Not one 
word was spoken ; but, as if all had been under the in¬ 
fluence of some simultaneous instinct, they decently and 
decorously formed themselves into two lines. The serv¬ 
ants of the deceased, resolved that no hireling should lay 
hands on the coffin of their master, approached the hearse. 
Amongst these the figure of the old coachman who had 
driven Sir Walter for so many years, w r as peculiarly re¬ 
markable, reverentially bending to receive the coffin_ 

No sooner did that black casket appear, which contained 
all that now remains of the most precious of Scotia’s 
jewels, than with downcast eyes, and w r ith countenances 
expressive of the deepest veneration, every individual 
present took off his hat. A moment’s delay took place 
whilst the faithful and attached servants were preparing 


FUNERAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 


237 


to bear the body, and whilst the relatives were arranging 
themselves around it in the following order:— 

Head. 

Major Sir WALTER SCOTT, 

Eldest Son of the Deceased. 


Fight. 


Left.. 

Charles Scott, second 


J. G. Lockhart, Esq., 

Son. 


Son-in-Law. 

Charles Scott of Nesbitt, 

ds 

/=> 

James Scott, Esq., of 

Cousin. 

Q 

$ 

Nesbitt, Cousin. 

William Scott, Esq., of 

y 

Robert Rutherford, Esq 

Raeburn, Cousin. 

W.S., Cousin. 

Colonel Russell 


Hugh Scott, Esq., of 

of Ashiesteel, Cousin. 


Harden. 


Foot. 

William Keith, Esq., of Edinburgh. 


“ When all were in their places, the bearers moved slowly 
forward, preceded by two mutes in long cloaks, carrying 
poles covered with crape; and no sooner had the coffin 
passed through the double line formed by the company, 
than the whole broke up, and followed in a thick press. At 
the head was the Rev. J. Williams, Rector of the Edinburgh 
Academy, dressed in his canonicals as a clergyman of the 
Church of England ; and on his left hand walked Mr Cadell, 
the well-known publisher of the Waverley Works. There 
was a solemnity as well as a simplicity in the whole of this 
spectacle which we never witnessed on any former occasion. 
The long-robed mutes ; the body with its devotedly attached 
and deeply afflicted supporters and attendants; the clergy¬ 
man, whose presence indicated the Christian belief and 
hopes of those assembled; and the throng of uncovered and 
reverential mourners, stole along beneath the tall and um¬ 
brageous trees with a silence equal to that which is believed 
to accompany those visionary funerals which have their ex- 


*238 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


istence only in the superstitions of our country. The ruined 
Abbey disclosed itself through the trees; and we approach¬ 
ed its western extremity, where a considerable portion of 
vaulted roof still remains to protect the poet’s family-place 
of interment, which opens to the sides in lofty Gothic 
arches, and is defended by a low rail of enclosure. At one 
extremity of it, a tall thriving young cypress rears its spiral 
form. Creeping plants of different kinds, f with ivy never 
sere,’ have spread themselves very luxuriantly over every 
part of the Abbey. These, perhaps, were in many instances 
the children of art; but, however this may have been. Na¬ 
ture had herself undertaken their education. In this spot 
especially she seems to have been most industriously busy 
in twining her richest wreaths around those walls which 
more immediately form her poet’s tomb. Amongst her 
other decorations, we observed a plum-tree, which was, 
perhaps, at one period a prisoner, chained to the solid 
masonry, but which having long since been emancipated, 
now threw out its wild pendant branches, laden with 
purple fruit, ready to drop, as if emblematical of the ripen¬ 
ing and decay of human life. 

“In such a scene as this then it was that the coffin of Sir 
Walter Scott was set down on trestles placed outside the 
iron railing; and here that solemn service, beginning with 
those words so cheering to the souls of Christians, < I am 
the resurrection and the life,’ was solemnly read by Mr 
Williams. The manly, soldier-like features of the chief 
mourner, on whom the eyes of sympathy were most natu¬ 
rally turned, betrayed at intervals the powerful efforts 
which he made to master his emotions, as well as the ineffi¬ 
ciency of his exertions to do so. The other relatives who 
surrounded the bier were deeply moved; and, amid the 
crowd of weeping friends, no eye, and no heart, could be 
discovered that was not altogether occupied in that sad and 
impressive ceremonial which was so soon to shut from them 
for ever, him who had been so long the common idol of 


CONCLUSION. 


239 


their admiration, and of their best affections. Here and 
there, indeed, we might have fancied that we detected some 
early and long-tried friends of him who lay cold before us, 
who, whilst tears dimmed their eyes, and whilst their lips 
quivered, were yet partly engaged in mixing up and con¬ 
trasting the happier scenes of days long gone by, with that 
which they were now witnessing, until they became lost 
in dreamy reverie, so that even the movement made when 
the coffin was carried under the lofty arches of the ruin, and 
when dust was committed to dust, did not entirely snap the 
thread of their visions. It was not until the harsh sound of 
the hammers of the workmen who were employed to rivet 
those iron bars covering the grave to secure it from viola¬ 
tion, had begun to echo from the vaulted roof, that some of 
us were called to the full conviction of the fact, that the 
earth had for ever closed over that form which we were wont 
to love and reverence ; that eye which we had so often seen 
beaming with benevolence, sparkling with wit, or lighted up 
with a poet’s frenzy ; those lips which we had so often seen 
monopolizing the attention of all listeners, or heard rolling 
out, with nervous accentuation, those powerful verses with 
which his head was continually teeming; and that brow, 
the perpetual throne of generous expression, and liberal in¬ 
telligence. Overwhelmed by the conviction of this afflict¬ 
ing truth, men moved away without parting salutation, 
singly, slowly, and silently. The day began to stoop down 
into twilight; and we, too, after giving a last parting 
survey to the spot where now repose the remains of our 
Scottish Shakspeare, a spot lovely enough to induce his 
sainted spirit to haunt and sanctify its shades, hastily tore 
ourselves away.” 


CONCLUSION. 


The Sketches of Scottish Scenery and character, thus 
brought to a close, brief and imperfect as they are, may pos- 


SCENES IN SCOTLAND. 


240 

sibly be found to possess, in the mere variety of the subjects 
presented to the reader, what will more than atone for 
the want of minute description and elaborate detail. Some 
pains have been taken to exclude from the volume what¬ 
ever was not of permanent interest, and to admit only such 
descriptive matter as might revive early impressions, and 
strengthen the well-known amor jmtrice so characteristic 
of Scotsmen. If the work, therefore, has no other merit, it 
will at least serve to awaken in the memory of the native 
reader those historical recollections that are endeared to him 
by a thousand thrilling associations. It may also tend to 
impress still more strongly on his heart and imagination, the 
lofty attributes by which his beloved country has ever been 
distinguished ; while the reflections which must thence arise 
will naturally lead him to the consoling truth, that notwith¬ 
standing her rugged soil and inclement sky, the moral and 
political advantages she enjoys amply compensate the want 
of those luxuriant natural gifts which are the boast of more 
favoured climes—advantages that are rarely over-rated, and 
can never be adequately prized—advantages which alone are 
worthy to constitute a people’s pride—justice—freedom—in¬ 
dependence—a pure and holy faith—national renown ! He 
may then point exultingly to the moral of the following beau¬ 
tiful apostrophe which has been penned to her honour by one 
of her sweetest bards,—at once illustrating a simple but em¬ 
phatic truth, and adding another fine proof to the many 
which exist of the enthusiastic admiration of her sons 

“ Liberal, not lavish, is kind Nature’s hand ; 

Nor was perfection made for man below : 

Yet all her schemes with nicest art are plann’d, 

Good counteracting ill, and gladness woe. 

With gold and gems, if Chilian mountains glow; 

If bleak and barren Scotia’s hills arise ; 

There plague and poison, lust and rapine grow ; 

Here peaceful are the vales, and pure the skies, 

And freedom fires the soul, and sparkles in the eyes.” 


FINIS. 












rillG 21 ij-k. 


J- 





































